Iran Protests: Supreme Leader Blames Trump, Internet Blackout

On Friday 9 January 2026, Iran’s 86‑year‑old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed protesters for ‘ruining their own streets’ to please US President Donald Trump, as a nationwide internet blackout was imposed. Demonstrations that began in Tehran last month over a sharp fall in the rial have spread to all 31 provinces, with 34 protesters and four security personnel reported killed and 2,200 arrests made, according to the US‑based Human Rights Activist News Agency. State media accused ‘terrorist agents’ from the US and Israel of sparking the violence. The blackout cut international phone calls and shut down social media, while flights between Dubai and Iranian cities were cancelled.