At least eight minors among 45 killed as Iran unrest enters second week

Flights from Dubai to Iran canceled as nationwide internet blackout imposed amid growing unrest

At least 45 protesters, including eight minors killed during a widening crackdown on demonstrations that erupted in late December, according to a Norway-based human rights group.

According to Khaleej Times, Iran Human Rights (IHR) said on Thursday that Wednesday marked the deadliest day of the 12-day protest movement so far, with 13 demonstrators confirmed killed across the country.

“The evidence shows that the scope of the crackdown is becoming more violent and more extensive every day,” said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. He added that hundreds of protesters have been wounded and more than 2,000 people arrested as security forces intensify efforts to quell the unrest.

The figures released by IHR exceed official tallies. Iranian state media and authorities have reported at least 21 deaths since the protests began, including members of the security forces, according to a count by AFP.

A nationwide internet blackout was reported in Iran on Thursday, internet monitoring group NetBlocks said, as protests over economic hardships continued around the country.

No further information on the internet outage was immediately available.

Witnesses in the capital Tehran and major cities of Mashhad and Isfahan told Reuters that protesters gathered again in the streets on Thursday, chanting slogans against the Islamic Republic's clerical rulers.

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's late Shah toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, called in a video post on X on Wednesday for more protests.

Posts on social media, which could not be independently verified by Reuters, said demonstrators chanted pro-Pahlavi slogans in several cities and towns across Iran.

Iranian state media, however, said cities across the country were calm.

Read: Iran unrest intensifies, two security personnel killed, 30 injured

The current protests, the biggest wave of dissent in three years, began last month in Tehran's Grand Bazaar with shopkeepers condemning the rial currency's free fall.

Unrest has since spread nationwide amid deepening distress over economic privations arising from rocketing inflation driven by mismanagement and Western sanctions, and curbs on political and social freedoms.

President Masoud Pezeshkian warned domestic suppliers against hoarding or overpricing goods, state media reported earlier on Thursday.

"People should not feel any shortage in terms of goods' supply and distribution," he said, calling upon his government to ensure adequate supply of goods and monitoring of prices across the country.

Tehran remains under international pressure with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to come to the aid of protesters if security forces fire on them, seven months after Israeli and U.S. forces bombed Iranian nuclear sites.

Violence ‘unacceptable’, restore internet: EU

The European Union on Friday called on Iran to restore internet access in the country, and condemned any violence against protesters.

"The people of Iran are expressing their legitimate aspiration for a better life. Any violence against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.

"We urge the Iranian authorities to uphold the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and to restore access to the internet for all," he added.

Dubai to Iran flight disruption

Several airlines from Dubai to Iranian cities have been cancelled.