Iran Internet Blackout Stokes Fears of Crackdown (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Iran's near total internet blackout is raising fears of a brutal crackdown to try and suppress the anti-regime and also the economic protests. Now authorities shut down the internet and telephone lines late on Thursday and it has made it increasingly difficult for people inside the country to communicate both with each other and also with the outside world. These protests, which started two weeks ago, do appear to be gaining momentum. We are seeing demonstrations in well over 100 cities across the country, marking the most significant challenge to Iran's leadership in years. Human rights groups say that they believe dozens of protesters have been killed and hundreds injured. Exiled opposition figure Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah, is calling for a two-day nationwide shutdown. He is calling on businesses to shut their doors. He is saying, quote, the goal is to prepare to seize city centres and hold them. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has posted on X saying that the US supports the brave people of Iran. And we have heard once again from the US President Donald Trump warning Iran's leadership that the US will step in if peaceful protesters are killed by security forces. Now, the Iranian Supreme Leader has pushed back, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying that he believes that the US is inciting these protests, warning Trump to focus on problems in his own country. As public anger continues, as these demonstrations spread, the key question is whether or not the Iranian leadership can contain this unrest or whether this moment signals deeper shifts to come.