Anti-government protests erupt in Iran, nationwide internet traffic drops to "near zero"

PANews, January 9—According to Decrypt, Iranian authorities have implemented a nationwide internet shutdown due to ongoing anti-government protests. Cloudflare data shows that since 18:45 UTC (22:15 local time), Iran's internet traffic has "almost completely dropped to zero." The protests were triggered by high inflation, currency collapse, and livelihood pressures, and have recently escalated following a call for mass demonstrations by the exiled crown prince. It is currently unclear whether satellite internet services such as SpaceX's Starlink are available in Iran. NetBlocks described this as a "nationwide digital blackout," which will severely restrict the dissemination of protest footage.