Large-scale internet blackout reported in Iran

TEHRAN — Tehran and several other parts of Iran experienced an internet blackout Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, an internet monitoring group said.

NetBlocks, the monitoring group, said “Live metrics show Iran is now in the midst of a nationwide internet blackout.”

Xinhua reporters in Tehran experienced the blackout starting around 8:15 p.m. local time.

The outages came amid ongoing protests in several Iranian cities since late last month. The latest demonstrations occurred in Tehran Thursday over the sharp fall in the rial and long-standing economic hardships.

Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported 23 police officers and one “rioter” were injured during clashes in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi.

Five people were killed in an attack by “rioters” on a police station in the province Wednesday night, the agency said. / XINHUA