Following a bout of violent protests that saw over 100 people reportedly killed by security forces, Iran has started to restore internet access across the country, the Fars news agency reported.
Fars said that fixed-line access was being restored in Hormozgan, Kermanshah, Arak, Mashhad, Qom, Tabriz, Hamadan and Bushehr provinces, as well as in parts of Tehran.
The protests began after a combination of rationing and the slashing of subsidies saw petrol prices go up by at least 50 per cent. The move came in the wake of crippling US sanctions that have targeted the country’s oil industry.
On Wednesday, the country’s president Hassan Rouhani claimed that the rioters were supported by the US and by Zionists. “The number of people who had taken to the streets was clear, and there were only a few hooligans among them; but the hooligans were well organised and armed, acting on behalf of the regional reactionaries, the Zionists and Americans,” Rouhani told a cabinet meeting.
Amnesty International claimed that 106 demonstrators were killed in the protests, a figure Iran has denied, with the country’s U.N. mission spokesman Alireza Miryousefi called it “baseless allegations and fabricated figures by biased Western entities.”
The Amnesty Report claimed the deaths took place over 21 cities, with snipers firing into crowds from the rooftops and even from helicopters.
On November 18, the Iranian National Guard threatened “decisive and revolutionary action” if the protests continued. At the time, state news reporters said that over 100 banks and dozens of buildings had been burned down according to Reuters.
Both sides suffered casualties, with the country’s ISNA news agency reporting that three security forces were stabbed to death on Monday. In clips shared on social media, protesters can be seen demanding that clerical leaders step down.
The internet shutdown made it difficult for protesters to spread their message, or document their battles with the Iranian state.
According to Iranian authorities, over 1,000 people have been arrested so far.
