Iran's internet was cut off late last Thursday, apparently in an attempt by government authorities to prevent protesters from organizing and uploading videos for the outside world to see.

Tehran

Iran has cut off internet access nationwide in response to widespread anti-government protests, reportedly to prevent demonstrators from organizing and sharing information. Activists claim that over 500 people, mostly protesters, have been killed, though this figure cannot be independently verified.

Despite the blackout, some Iranians are using alternative means such as Starlink to post videos online, showing mass protests and apparent violence by security forces. The US government is considering a range of responses, including military strikes, cyber actions, and additional sanctions, while Iranian officials warn of retaliation if the US intervenes.

Iran enforcing nationwide internet blackout amid protests

Demonstrations against Iran's theocracy have not slowed and President Trump is weighing military action as anti-government protests escalate in the country. More than 500 people have reportedly been killed with the majority of them demonstrators according to activists. CBS News senior foreign correspondent Holly Williams has more from northern Iraq. The problem for us covering what's happening inside Iran is that like most other international journalists we can't get into Iran at the moment to report from the ground. On top of that Iran's internet was cut off late on Thursday apparently an attempt by the authorities to prevent protesters from organizing and also stop them posting videos online for the outside world to see. Now despite that some videos are still being posted online. It seems that some Iranians are using Starlink for internet access and those videos really tell a story. They show mass protests, they show Iranians calling for an end to the regime, an end to the Islamic Republic. Some of those videos appear to show Iranian security forces opening fire at protests and some appear to show a large number of body bags that is apparently protesters that have been killed. One of the human rights monitoring groups that's observing the crisis in Iran says that around 500 protesters have been killed so far. Now we cannot independently verify that number but it's crucial because President Trump has repeatedly threatened to hit Iran hard if protesters are killed. Though of course we don't know exactly where his red line is and we also don't know what impact any US intervention would have. A US official told CBS News that President Trump has been briefed on options for military strikes in Iran. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that President Trump will be briefed on Tuesday by senior officials about possible steps including not just military strikes but using cyber weapons against Iran and imposing more sanctions against Iran. A senior Iranian official said that if the US takes military action then Iran will retaliate and he said that American shipping and the US military would be legitimate targets. Now that is highly relevant where we are in Iraq just across the border from Iran. Here in Iraq there are US bases as well as around 2,000 American troops. Holly Williams CBS News Erbil Iraq

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Protests in Iran defy government crackdown

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Breakdown