Japan withdraws some embassy staff from Iran

The Islamic Republic is prolonging its internet shutdown rather than confronting the country’s underlying problems, portraying the move as a deliberate choice to deepen isolation, wrote the Persian-language account of the US Department of State on X.

“Instead of addressing the country’s real challenges, the Islamic Republic chooses to impose silence and isolation, underscoring how little confidence it has in its own legitimacy,” the post said.

A spokesperson for the Islamic Republic earlier announced that the internet shutdown will continue until late March, prolonging an isolation that Iranians have already endured for more than 216 hours, added the State Department.

Iran’s internet shutdown is “in line with common international practices,” Tasnim, a news agency affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, said without specifying which standards justify a nationwide blackout.

Fars News, another IRGC-linked outlet, also reported that private chats and group activity online will only be available on domestic messaging platforms.

Reza Eskandarpour, 37, was killed by direct gunfire during protests on January 8 in the Ariashahr neighborhood of Tehran, sources confirmed to Iran International.

Eskandarpour, born in October 1988 and a resident of, was shot dead by security forces, according to reports received by Iran International.

Eskandarpour was protesting with five friends when one of them was shot by security agents, sources said. He returned to help his wounded friend, at which point a sniper linked to security forces opened fire from a rooftop.

He was hit by six live rounds and killed at the scene. Two other people accompanying him were also killed at the same time.

Eskandarpour owned a cabinet-making workshop in Ariashahr and was preparing to get married, according to people close to him.

As the security crackdown intensifies in cities across Iran, reports received by Iran International indicate a sharp rise in the number of people killed, with sources saying that in some areas nearly every family has lost someone or has at least one detained or injured relative.

One source said at least five people, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed in Izeh, south of Iran, on the evening of January 8 during protests. Residents described conditions resembling martial law from around 5 p.m., with snipers positioned on rooftops and armed forces wearing masks deployed in streets and residential alleys.

In Khorramabad, Lorestan province, security forces have been stationed in large halls and schools, while reports point to the widespread transfer of bodies to medical centers. In Borujerd, residents described a severe security lockdown alongside raids on homes and reports of killings and arrests.

A source told Iran International that in Bam, Kerman province, more than 100 people were detained and around 10 killed during protests on January 8 and 9. Families have not been informed of detainees’ whereabouts, and one family was told they would have to bury the body of their slain relative themselves.

In Arak, Markazi province, eyewitnesses said the number of deaths was so high that the morgue ran out of capacity to store bodies. Witnesses in Qazvin also reported protesters being shot from rooftops.

Arshia Ahmadpour, an 18-year-old boxer from Baharestan in Isfahan, was killed by security forces during protests in the city on January 9, according to information received by Iran International.

Ahmadpour, a relative said, was originally from Izeh in southern Iran, worked as a hairdresser in Isfahan, and was an athlete who practiced boxing.