Iran starts internet shutdown ahead of possible new protests
Iranian authorities have shut down mobile internet
access to overseas sites in several provinces, an Iranian news agency reported
on Wednesday, a day before new protests called for on social media.
Social media posts and some relatives of people
killed in unrest last month over hikes in gasoline prices have called for
renewed protests and commemoration ceremonies for the dead on Thursday.
The semi-official news agency ILNA quoted an
informed source at the Communications and Information Technology Ministry as saying
the shutdown was ordered by “security authorities” and covered the Alborz,
Kurdestan and Zanjan provinces in central and western Iran and Fars in the
south.
“According to this source, it is possible that more
provinces will be affected by the shutdown of mobile international
connectivity,” ILNA said.
In November, Iran shut down the internet for about a
week to help stifle the fuel protests which turned political, sparking the
bloodiest crackdown in the 40-year history of the Islamic Republic.
The internet blockage made it difficult for
protesters to post videos on social media to generate support and also to
obtain reliable reports on the extent of the unrest.
