The internet monitoring group (NetBlocks) reported that Iran witnessed a full internet outage on Thursday, while the American president pledged to strike Tehran hard if it tried to suppress the ongoing protests against the deteriorating economic situation.
NetBlocks stated in an announcement published on social media that "live data indicates that Iran is now experiencing a total internet shutdown nationwide."
It added that this comes "following a series of digital censorship measures targeting protesters across the country, and obstructing people's right to communicate at a crucial moment."
For his part, American President Donald Trump said that he would deliver a very strong strike to Iran and make it pay a heavy price "if it tried to suppress the anti-government protests."
Trump said in an interview with conservative journalist Hugh Hewitt, "I've told them that if they start killing people, which they tend to do during riots – they have a lot of riots – if they do that, we will hit them hard."
Clashes in Several Areas
However, the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called, on Thursday, for "maximum restraint" in dealing with the protests that have entered their twelfth day in the country, amid reports of clashes in several areas.
Pezeshkian said in a statement published on his website: "Any violent or coercive behavior must be avoided," calling for "maximum restraint" and "dialogue, communication, and listening to the people's demands."
Earlier, Iranian media reported that a policeman was stabbed to death during disturbances near the capital Tehran, as the protests against the high cost of living in Iran entered their twelfth day.
Fars News Agency reported that "Shahin Dehghan", a policeman in the city of Malard west of Tehran, was killed by stabbing "while trying to control the disturbances in the area," noting that authorities are working to identify the perpetrators of the killing.
With the death of the policeman, the number of security forces fatalities has risen to 4 since the start of the protests, in addition to 34 protesters, according to a report by the Human Rights Activists News Agency based in the United States.
However, official reports state that the number of fatalities is much lower than this figure.
