Regime's internet blackout does little to silence Iranians' desire for democracy

Global Watch | 2026-01-21

In a desperate bid to control a spiraling crisis, Tehran severed the nation's internet access on January 8, plunging millions into an information blackout. The move, a well-worn tactic from the authoritarian playbook, was intended to isolate, disorient and break a nationwide protest movement.

Tight communications restrictions remain in place.

This uprising, ignited by decades of repression and economic decay, has unified a fractured society. Verified footage, trickling out despite the blockade, paints a stark picture of a nation in open revolt: government buildings ablaze, public squares overrun by determined crowds and security forces deploying tear gas and firing live rounds into the night.

The internet shutdown is a strategic, not a panicked, decision. Monitoring groups like NetBlocks and Georgia Tech's Internet Outage Detection and Analysis (IODA) project confirmed the near-total collapse of connectivity, a tactic honed during last June's 12-day war with Israel.

Its purpose is twofold: to blind the outside world to the scale of the crackdown and to sever the connective tissue that allows protesters to organize and sustain momentum.

Yet, on the ground, the movement's organic power persists.

Witnesses describe a striking cross-section of society -- men and women, young and old, affluent and working-class -- united in purpose. In Tehran's upscale Shahrak Gharb district, the slogan, "Death to the oppressor, be it king or supreme leader," reveals a sophisticated rejection of all forms of autocracy. In the southern port city of Bushehr, crowds were reportedly so vast that security forces were forced into a tactical retreat.

The regime's response betrays a deep-seated uncertainty. While the head of the judiciary threatens "no mercy" and blames familiar foreign enemies, senior officials privately admit to being at a loss.

Whispers that the powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) may assume total control of internal security signal a potential, and perilous, escalation. This political disarray is compounded by economic pressure, as strikes by merchants in the historic bazaars of Tehran, Tabriz and Isfahan threaten to cripple an economy already on its knees from sanctions and a collapsing currency.

The human cost, as always, is mounting.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO (IHR) has said verification of deaths in the crackdown remains severely hampered due to the communication restrictions, but noted on January 19 that available information "indicates that the number of protesters killed may exceed even the highest media estimates", which reach 20,000.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency has reported 4,029 confirmed deaths.

Arrests are sweeping, with midnight raids targeting prominent figures such as influencer Amirparsa Neshat. The state is deploying its full apparatus of fear.

But the fear is not working. The resilience on display suggests a fundamental shift in the popular consciousness.

The internet blackout was meant to be the regime's decisive weapon, a tool to reassert control over the narrative and the streets.

Instead, it has become a glaring symbol of the government's fragility and fear of its own people.