Iranian state television was hacked on Saturday, allowing opposition messages from exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi to be broadcast across the country in response to mass protests against the Islamic State, multiple international media reported.
According to reports from the Times of Israel and the Jerusalem Post citing the opposition alliance media Iran International, Pahlavi’s speech lasted several minutes. His press office released nearly six minutes of Saturday’s broadcast on X.
The Times and Mail also said the broadcast of protest videos against the regime was in defiance of a harsh and widespread crackdown on communications. The newspaper noted that because the hack was done via satellite, the video was broadcast on multiple channels.
Iran’s nationwide crisis began late last month with protests over a collapsing economy and erupted into massive anti-government riots. The government responded with brutal violence, including mass arrests, lethal force and a near-total internet blackout.
Thousands of protesters have been reported killed, injured or detained, but estimates vary widely due to an information blackout. Two of Iran’s best-known filmmakers, “It Was Just an Accident” director Jafar Panahi and “Evil Does Not Exist” director Mohammad Rasoulof, last week issued stark warnings about the Islamic Republic’s renewed dangerous repression.
In a joint letter obtained by TheWrap, authorities have moved to isolate the country by cutting off internet access, mobile services and landline calls – measures that rights groups warn often precede the harshest phases of a crackdown. Read their full letter here.
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