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Iran: Nationwide Internet Blackout Reported as Protests Spread

Are Iran's protests organic resistance to regime failure, or a Western-manufactured pretext for intervention?
Iran: Nationwide Internet Blackout Reported as Protests Spread
Above: Burning debris lies next to an overturned dumpster in the middle of a street during unrest amid demonstrations in Hamedan, Iran, on Jan. 1. Image credit: Mobina/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-Iran narrative

Economic protests in Iran are being deliberately weaponized by the United States and Israel to manufacture regime collapse and justify military aggression. After failing to destroy Iran's nuclear and missile programs through direct strikes, Washington and Tel Aviv now exploit genuine economic grievances to create civil war conditions under a "Libyanizing Iran" strategy. Trump's interventionist threats violate international law and expose how sanctions-induced suffering gets cynically reframed as governance failure.

Anti-Iran narrative

The regime's economic failures have finally united Iranians against their rulers, with protesters explicitly rejecting the Islamic Republic. While Khamenei smuggles billions to Hezbollah and offers citizens seven dollars monthly, the currency collapses and security forces massacre demonstrators in hospitals. Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has emerged as the coherent voice backing protesters, offering a detailed transition plan while the regime's legitimacy crumbles.

Metaculus Prediction



The Controversies



Go Deeper


Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO



© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.18.0