Overview
- Internet watchdogs NetBlocks and Cloudflare confirmed a near‑total blackout across Iran, with international phone service also disrupted as nighttime protests spread.
- Rights groups reported at least 42 to 45 people killed and roughly 2,200 to 2,300 detained since December 28, while state outlets acknowledged unspecified “victims” and reported security force casualties.
- Videos shared by activists showed fresh demonstrations and rooftop chants in Tehran and other cities following Pahlavi’s call, with protests now documented in at least 25 of Iran’s 31 provinces.
- President Masoud Pezeshkian instructed security forces not to repress peaceful demonstrators and announced modest relief, including new cash subsidies of about $7 per household head and currency reforms slated to begin January 10.
- Iran’s army chief Amir Hatami warned of a decisive response to external threats as state media blamed “agents” of the United States and Israel, and U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated that Washington would respond if protesters are killed.