The internet blackout across Iran is meant to prevent protests from spreading, and observers from witnessing the crackdown on them. But it’s also emblematic of the deep uncertainty surrounding this unrest and the response of a regime under growing pressure.

Rocketing inflation and a tanking currency sparked the protests in late December. They have since broadened and spread. Videos showed thousands marching in Tehran on Thursday night and people setting fire to vehicles and state-owned buildings.

Regime opponents – not least in the diaspora – have often predicted its demise. The politically‑focused Green movement of 2009 was brutally suppressed. Ten years later, a harsh crackdown ended economically-prompted unrest. The current protests are smaller than those of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement at its 2022 peak. But they began in parts of society that have been more supportive of the regime, and have quickly escalated, with some participants explicitly demanding its fall.

NGOs say dozens of people – including children – have already been killed. The supreme leader,........

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