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Iran Considers Lifting Internet Ban - State TV Hacked

Published January 19, 2026, 14:21
Iran Considers Lifting Internet Ban - State TV Hacked

Iran may lift the internet ban in a few days, an official said today, after authorities 'shut down' communications while using mass force to suppress protests in the worst domestic unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In the latest sign of the authorities' inability to control the situation, state television appeared to be 'hacked' late Sunday night, briefly showing speeches by US President Donald Trump and the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran calling for an uprising. The streets of Iran have been largely calm for a week after the anti-government protests that began in late December were suppressed in three days of mass violence. An Iranian official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the confirmed death toll is at least 5,000, including 500 members of the security forces, with some of the most violent unrest occurring in Kurdish areas in the northwest. Western-based Iranian human rights organizations also say thousands of people have been killed. Opponents accuse the authorities of opening fire on peaceful protesters in order to crush dissent. The religious leaders of Iran say armed mobs incited by external enemies attacked hospitals and mosques. The death toll is much higher than in previous anti-government protests suppressed by the authorities in 2022 and 2009. The violence prompted Trump to repeatedly threaten military intervention, although he has stopped making those threats since the large-scale killings stopped. The internet will be restored when 'conditions are appropriate' Ibrahim Azizi, head of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said that the top security bodies will decide on restoring the internet in the coming days, with the service repeating 'as soon as security conditions are appropriate'. Another member of parliament, hardliner Hamid Rasaei, said that the authorities should have listened to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's earlier calls for a 'loose cyberspace'. Iranian communications, including the internet and international telephone lines, were largely cut off in the days leading up to the most violent unrest. The communications blackout has since eased somewhat, allowing the emergence of accounts alleging widespread attacks on protesters. During yesterday's 'hacking' of state television, a segment was broadcast for several minutes titled 'the real news of the Iranian national revolution'. This segment included messages from Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah based in the US, calling for an uprising…