Mobile Networks Partially Restored in Iran After One Week
According to a report by Iran International, this limited service came into effect on Friday, January 16. Authorities had imposed a strict digital blackout in the face of unprecedented anti-government protests, leaving Iran virtually disconnected from the outside world for nearly a week.
The primary cause of the current instability in Iran is the country's severe economic crisis. Following years of currency devaluation, the Iranian Rial has become one of the weakest currencies in the world. It is reported that the exchange rate has reached nearly 1 million Rials per US Dollar.
Due to this historic collapse of the currency, the prices of daily necessities, including food, clothing, and medicine, have soared beyond the reach of ordinary people. The ongoing protests were triggered on December 28, when traders in Tehran went on strike to protest this situation.
The movement quickly took on a political dimension and spread to almost all of Iran's 31 provinces. This is being viewed as the most significant challenge to the government in the 47 years since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
To bring the situation under control, the government completely shut down internet and communication systems on January 7 and deployed the army alongside police and security forces to suppress the protests. Various unconfirmed sources claim that more than 12,000 people have been killed in clashes so far, and thousands of protesters have been arrested.
