Iranian authorities shut down the Internet, the number of victims has risen to 45 people

Iranian authorities appear to have cut off internet access in Tehran and some other parts of the country to make it more difficult to coordinate mass anti-government protests. CBS News, citing sources in the Iranian capital, reports that the Internet in Tehran does not work.

Monitoring organization NetBlocks reported on the nationwide internet blackout in Iran: “The incident follows a series of tightened online censorship targeting protests across the country and harms people’s right to communicate at a critical time.”

Protesters report internet shutdowns in the cities of Isfahan, Lordegan, Abdanan and parts of Shiraz.

Meanwhile, human rights groups have reported at least 45 deaths in 12 days of anti-government protests that have spread across more and more of Iran. Communication restrictions have made it more difficult to track the impact of the harsh crackdown on protests.