Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Nationwide Protests with Communications Blackout

When protests erupt across Iran, the government’s first response has often been not dialogue but darkness.

Iranian authorities have imposed sweeping internet and communications blackouts, expanded surveillance drone usage, and deployed security forces to suppress demonstrators in recent days. Analysts and human rights groups say Tehran is refining a playbook designed to smother dissent before it can spread.

A nationwide internet blackout has now persisted for five days, with connectivity at near-zero levels, according to global internet monitor NetBlocks. Local authorities are also disrupting satellite internet services like Starlink to further limit Iranians’ ability to communicate.

The objective, analysts say, is speed.

“The Islamic Republic only has one answer for the protesters,” Jason Brodsky, a nonresident scholar at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital. “The only way out of this mess that it has created for the Iranian people is by cracking down on them — more violence and more repression.”

Since the start of 2026, Iran has been rocked by anti-government protests driven by economic hardship, political repression, and anger at the country’s clerical leadership. Demonstrations have spread beyond major cities into smaller towns and rural areas. High inflation, unemployment, and frustration over social restrictions have fueled unrest across generational and regional lines, challenging the regime’s claim that opposition is confined to isolated urban pockets.

Brodsky noted that Iran’s leadership has learned from previous protest waves that allowing unrest to gain momentum — or visibility — can quickly spiral beyond its control. In 2019 and again in 2022, demonstrations expanded rapidly once images of violence spread online, drawing international scrutiny and pressure.

“This is a very well-worn playbook that the Islamic Republic employs,” Brodsky explained, describing a layered security response designed to contain protests early. Iranian police are typically deployed first, with more powerful forces such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij militia held in reserve.

Alongside communications blackouts and arrests, authorities are increasingly relying on surveillance technology to track protesters, including drones to monitor crowds and identify individuals.

“They’re trying to collect intelligence on who is involved,” Brodsky said, describing efforts to map protest networks and determine how demonstrations are being organized.

United Nations investigators have previously documented Iran’s expanding use of technology-enabled repression, including surveillance drones, facial recognition software, and digital tracking systems aimed at identifying dissidents. Rights groups say data collected during protests is often used later to carry out arrests, intimidation, and prosecutions.

The human cost of the current crackdown appears to be escalating rapidly. At least 3,000 people have reportedly been killed, according to Fox News reporting, with the actual figure likely higher. More than 10,000 people have been arrested.

By comparison, Iranian security forces killed more than 500 people during months-long protest crackdowns over 2022 and 2023, according to the U.S. State Department, and approximately 300 people during a 2019 protest wave, according to Amnesty International.

As the Trump administration weighs potential strike options against Iran, analysts note the U.S. still has a broad range of non-kinetic tools at its disposal. Information and cyber warfare may be the most effective options, particularly as Tehran relies on internet shutdowns, surveillance, and digital command-and-control systems to suppress dissent.

“The U.S. has a very robust offensive cyber capability,” Brodsky said. These capabilities were demonstrated during an operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro earlier in January, when the U.S. launched a cyberattack that scrambled communications and power sources in Caracas.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, cautioned that U.S. action aimed at supporting protesters could backfire if poorly targeted or perceived as disconnected from the crackdown on the streets. He argued that actions directly aimed at the regime’s repression apparatus — including systems used to jam communications — are more likely to be effective.

“An intermediate option could be kinetic or cyber attacks against the infrastructure supporting the military jamming the regime is doing to Starlink,” Taleblu suggested.

Trump has said he would speak with Elon Musk about restoring internet access in Iran through Musk’s Starlink technology. While Starlink can bypass state-controlled infrastructure, it requires physical terminals on the ground — a major constraint in a country where such equipment is illegal and aggressively targeted by security forces.

Despite the intensifying crackdown, analysts say many Iranians appear more defiant than fearful.

“There is an increasing fearlessness among the Iranian people that has become much more palpable and tangible in every round of protests that we’ve seen in recent years. And it’s very difficult to get the genie back in the bottle for the regime once the fear factor has been eroded,” Brodsky concluded.