After widespread unrest in Tehran, internet access remains closed as other Iranian cities remain largely calm.
Iranian officials say at least 3,000 people have been arrested in the past few weeks Anti-government protestsState news agencies have reported, as the protests have largely calmed down.
Streets were relatively quiet in Iran’s capital Tehran and other parts of the country on Friday with a heavy presence of security forces.
Recommended stories
3 List of itemsEnd of list
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said the public mood was mixed, with many worried about the possibility that the situation could escalate again and frustrated by continued internet shutdowns.
“Internet access is unavailable to almost everyone in Iran,” Asadi said.
Online monitor NetBlocks said on Friday A nationwide internet blackout entered its eighth day after Iranian authorities cut off access at the height of protests last week.
By the end of December, thousands of Iranians had taken to the streets in anger Rising inflation And the massive devaluation of the local currency, prompting a crackdown by the Iranian authorities.
Iranian leaders have described the protesters as “rioters” and blamed foreigners, particularly the United States and Israel, for fomenting the unrest.
Human rights groups say more than 1,000 protesters have been killed since the protests began, while the Iranian government said at least 100 security officers were also killed in protest-related attacks.
Al Jazeera has not been able to independently verify those figures.
US President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to order military action against Iran if it kills more protesters have raised the prospect of a broader escalation this week.
But Trump has since His rhetoric softened After Tehran told reporters it had canceled plans to execute hundreds of protesters.
“I greatly respect the fact that all of the executions scheduled to take place yesterday (over 800 of them) have been canceled by the Iranian leadership. Thank you!” Trump wrote on social media Friday afternoon.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, said Thursday evening that he hoped a “diplomatic resolution” could be reached to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Roxanne Farmanfarmian, a Cambridge University lecturer specializing in international relations and the Middle East, said the Trump administration had sent “largely mixed signals” in recent days.
“It’s hard to know where the red lines are and it’s hard to feel confident in any talks that start after (Iran),” Farmanfarmayan told Al Jazeera.
For now, she said, Iranian authorities are moving toward “calming things down” domestically — including not executing any protesters — “and moving forward to try to reform.” Financial situationWhich is a real threat to this regime”.
It was the largest protest since the 2022-2023 protests over deaths in police custody. Mahsa Aminiwho was arrested for violating the country’s strict dress code for women.
While an internet blackout has made it difficult to get information from Iran, Amnesty International warned this week that “mass extrajudicial killings” have been carried out on an “unprecedented scale”.
The rights group called on the international community to investigate what happened and hold any perpetrators accountable.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s Asadi said on Friday that Iranian officials were “trying to keep the situation under control domestically and internationally” amid the prospect of a possible escalation with the US.
“They are trying to keep the diplomatic door open … sending a warning message regarding their preparedness for any eventuality,” he said.