EU top diplomat says Iran authorities 'afraid of own people'

Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief, has spoken out on X against Iranian authorities' response to protests in the country. 

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BRUSSELS: The European Union's top diplomat on Friday (Jan 9) condemned the "heavy-handed" response by Iranian authorities to protests, as Brussels demanded internet access be restored in the country.  

"The Iranian people are fighting for their future. By ignoring their rightful demands, the regime shows its true colours," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X.

"Images from Tehran reveal a disproportionate and heavy-handed response by the security forces."

She said that "any violence against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable."

"Shutting down the internet while violently suppressing protests exposes a regime afraid of its own people," Kallas wrote. 

Earlier an EU spokesman had called on the authorities to "uphold the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and to restore access to the internet for all."

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday insisted the Islamic republic's authorities would "not back down" in the face of protests after the biggest rallies yet in an almost two-week movement sparked by anger over the rising cost of living.

Internet monitor Netblocks said authorities had imposed a total connectivity blackout and added early Friday that the country has "now been offline for 12 hours ... in an attempt to suppress sweeping protests."

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