Nov 28, 2019

In mass arrests, Iran detains eight accused of CIA ties

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Hossein Salami at a pro-government demonstration on Nov. 25, 2019 in Tehran, Iran. Photo: Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Iran says it has arrested over 500 people in the aftermath of protests over gas prices, AFP reports, and the regime claimed on late Wednesday that eight of those detained are linked to the CIA.

The big picture: Iran cut Internet access for the vast majority of the country earlier this month after protests erupted on Nov. 15. Human rights group Freedom House told Axios' Joe Uchill that the blackout prevented global reporting on Iranian police abuses and stifled coordination between protestors.

Driving the news: Iran accused eight detainees of trying to "collect information about the recent riots and send them out of the country" and said six of them were at "the riots and carrying out orders," Iran's state media reported late Wednesday.

Amnesty International believes violence from the protests has killed at least 143 people. Human Rights Watch has accused the Iranian government of "deliberately covering up" the scale of its crackdown against protestors.
Iranian authorities have not provided statistics on deaths or injuries from the protests, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The other side: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. had received "nearly 20,000 messages, videos, pictures, notes" of Iran's alleged abuses through the encrypted . messaging app Telegram as of Tuesday, AFP reports.

Go deeper: Iran cuts internet during, and after, protests

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Rashaan Ayesh

106 killed in Iran protests, human rights group says

Iranians gather around a charred police station while they protest the increase in oil prices in Isfahan, Iran. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

At least 106 people have been killed in Iran since protests over increased oil prices began last week, according to human rights group Amnesty International, which says the true death toll could be far higher.

The big picture: Iran was much quicker to use violent measures this time than during previous protests. The Iranian government also shut down the internet to prevent social media from further mobilizing protesters, per CNN.

Go deeperNov 19, 2019

Joe Uchill

Iran cuts internet during, and after, protests

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

As protests over gas prices erupted last weekend, Iranian officials cut the nation's access to the internet. On Wednesday, according to state media, the government declared victory over the protests. Yet the internet has only begun to trickle back online.

Why it matters: Keeping the internet off prevented global reporting of police abuses and prevents domestic coordination between protestors, Adrian Shahbaz of the human rights group Freedom House told Axios.

Go deeperNov 21, 2019

Behnam Ben Taleblu

Iranian government meets growing protests with harsher crackdown

Protesters in Isfahan, Iran, on Nov. 16, 2019. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has likened the recent wave of protests to a “vast, very dangerous and planned conspiracy,” but, in fact, the demonstrations reflect growing shifts among the people of Iran and in neighboring countries.

The big picture: Khamenei and the rest of the regime have long pointed a finger abroad when under strain at home. But they're now facing greater pressure and responding with firmer tactics, including the use of lethal force under the cover of an internet blackout.

Go deeperDec 2, 2019