Internet access curtailed in parts of Iran amid protests

Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi paid tribute to protesters killed during nationwide protests in Iran, vowing to stand with their families and hold those responsible to account.

“I honor and keep alive the memory and names of our compatriots who were killed in Iran’s national uprising,” Pahlavi said in a post on X.

Addressing the families of slain protestors, Pahlavi said: “On this irreversible path, I stand shoulder to shoulder with you.”

“I assure you that those who ordered and carried out these crimes will be identified and, without doubt, punished,” he added.

Addressing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he said: “By spilling the blood of the purest children of this land, you and your network have brought your own downfall closer. We will not back down and will continue until the complete destruction of your anti-Iranian regime.”

Labor organizations, retirees, and civil groups said in a joint statement that Iranian society is at one of the most decisive moments in its contemporary history, expressing solidarity with ongoing nationwide protests.

The groups said demonstrations unfolding in the streets, along with strikes and protests across the country, are a continuation of the 2022 uprising sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini following her arrest over an alleged hijab law violation.

“The current uprising has exposed institutionalized discrimination, systematic humiliation, overt repression, and structural poverty,” the statement said, adding that society is no longer willing to live under what it described as an unjust imposed order.

The statement was signed by the Retirees’ Union, the Kermanshah Electricity and Metal Association, Stop Executions, Justice Seekers, the Coordination Council for Protests of Contract Oil Workers, the Coordination Council for Protests of Non-Formal Oil Workers (Arkan-e Sales), the Coordination Council of Nurses’ Protests, and Neday-e Zanan-e Iran (Voice of Women of Iran).

A teachers’ trade association in the city of Islam Abad-e Gharb in western Iran issued a statement supporting nationwide protests, citing rising inflation, unemployment, and mounting economic pressure on households.

“In a society where poverty, unemployment, high prices and inflation have spread across people’s lives, and where governance, through misguided policies, has accelerated the rapid cycle of inflation, the heavy burden now weighs on various segments of society,” the association said.

It said rising living costs have reached levels that are “unbearable for many,” warning that the situation threatens family stability and has led to social consequences including unemployment, addiction, divorce, and suicide among young people.

“We believe the voice of the people is an echo of the real needs of society that must be heard and given a worthy response, not answered with violence, suppression, killing, and imprisonment,” the statement said.

The association said it supports what it described as the rightful protests of teachers, retirees, and other groups across the country and said its members would stand alongside them.

Unusual aircraft trails were seen in the sky over Pardis in Tehran province, on Sunday. Multiple smoke trails were also observed simultaneously over parts of the country including in Karaj, and Gilan, according to videos and images sent to Iran International.

Rallies were held across Europe in support of nationwide protests in Iran, with demonstrators gathering in Germany in the cities of Berlin and Hamburg, as well as in France in Paris and in Sweden in Malmo and Stockholm.

Demonstrators also gathered in London on Sunday in support of nationwide protests in Iran, chanting slogans including “This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return,” according to videos sent to Iran International.