Internet access remains cut off as the streets of Tehran, other Iranian cities are largely calm after widescale unrest.The Iranian authorities say at least 3,000 people have been arrested in weeks of antigovernment demonstrations, state news agencies reported, as the mass protests have largely been quelled.The streets of the Iranian capital Tehran and other parts of the country were comparatively calm on Friday amid a heavy presence of security forces.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listReporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said the public mood was mixed, with many people anxious over the possibility that the situation could escalate again and frustrated by a continuing internet shutdown.“Internet access is unavailable for almost everyone in Iran,” Asadi said.Online monitor NetBlocks said on Friday that a nationwide internet blackout had entered its eighth day after Iranian authorities cut off access at the height of the protests last week.Thousands of Iranians had taken to the streets since late December in anger over soaring inflation and the steep devaluation of the local currency, prompting a harsh crackdown from the Iranian authorities. People shop in a store in Tehran, Iran, January 16, 2026 [Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters]Iranian leaders have described the protesters as “rioters” and accused foreign countries, notably the United States and Israel, of fuelling the unrest.Human rights groups say more than 1,000 protesters have been killed since the demonstrations began, while the Iranian government said at least 100 security officers also were killed in protest-related attacks.Al Jazeera has not been able to independently verify those figures. Advertisement The prospect of a wider escalation loomed this week as US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to order military action against Iran should more protesters be killed.But Trump has since softened his rhetoric after telling reporters that Tehran had cancelled plans to execute hundreds of protesters.“I gr …
