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Street protest in Tehran (in October)
Photo:
STR / EPA EFE
Internet access has apparently been restricted again in Iran.
According to the dpa, the authorities justified the two-day bans starting this Thursday with an examination phase – entrance exams for the universities are pending – and concerns about possible fraud.
The journalist Gilda Sahebi also reported on Twitter about the planned blocking.
Residents of the capital Tehran confirmed massive restrictions on Thursday morning, which also affected online transfers.
At the same time, some protest organizations called for new demonstrations.
It was unclear whether the Internet blocks were related to this.
Again and again, Iran restricts the Internet before protests.
Recently, the street demonstrations in Iran had decreased again.
Many opponents of the system are now expressing their protest against the repressive course of the government and the Islamic system of rule through civil disobedience, for example by ignoring the compulsory headscarf.
The trigger for the nationwide protests was the death of the Iranian Kurd Jina Mahsa Amini in police custody in mid-September 2022. She had been arrested by the so-called vice police for violating Islamic dress codes.
Excitement about possible terrorist listing of the Revolutionary Guards
Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned a possible terrorist listing of the Revolutionary Guards by the European Union.
A corresponding proposal by the European Parliament was "ill-considered and wrong".
The project was "a shot in the foot," said Iran's Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian, according to a statement.
The chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, Mohammed Bagheri, threatened consequences.
“This is a heretical action in the international order and will affect security, tranquility and peace regionally and globally.
The European Parliament should be aware of the consequences.«
In the legally non-binding annual report of the European Parliament on the EU's common foreign and security policy, the EU states are called upon to include the Revolutionary Guards and their auxiliary troops in the EU terror list.
The report was approved by Parliament on Wednesday.
The Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are Iran's elite armed forces.
Founded after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the unit aims to prevent a putsch and protect the state ideology.
In recent decades, the IRGC has also risen to become an economic powerhouse.
The unit has come under increasing criticism for its role in suppressing the recent wave of protests.
sol/dpa