Hackers have disrupted Iranian state television broadcasts to air messages from exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, urging the military to side with protesters amid a widening crackdown on anti-government demonstrations.
Online video circulating despite a nationwide internet blackout shows several channels operated by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting briefly airing clips of Pahlavi calling on soldiers and security forces to «join the people» and stop targeting civilians. Graphics shown during the hacked broadcasts appealed directly to the army, urging it to lay down its weapons and support what was described as a popular movement for freedom.
Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and now lives in exile. In the broadcast, he said the military was «the national army of Iran, not the Islamic Republic army,» and warned forces they had little time left to change sides.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency quoted the state broadcaster as acknowledging that its signal had been «momentarily disrupted by an unknown source» in parts of the country, without confirming what content was aired. A statement from Pahlavi’s office also acknowledged the disruption.
The incident comes as activists report an escalating death toll from the crackdown on protests. The Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had verified 3,919 deaths so far, with thousands more under investigation, while Iranian officials have put the confirmed figure at at least 5,000, including security personnel. Authorities blame «terrorists and armed rioters» and allege foreign involvement in the unrest.
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