Iran cuts internet as protests grow; Oil price jumps on supply fears

9th Jan 2026 11:17

(Sharecast News) - Iranian authorities imposed an internet blackout on Thursday night as protests increased against the regime over high food prices, contributing to a rise in oil prices.

Internet freedom monitor NetBlocks reported outages in the western city of Kermanshah as authorities intensified their crackdown against protesters, the Guardian reported.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed that authorities would "not back down" and blamed the US for instigating demonstrations which have escalated from complaints over economic conditions and now openly call for regime change.

In his first speech since the protests started 13 days ago Khamenei described protesters as "vandals" and "saboteurs", adding that they were "ruining their own streets to make the president of another country happy ... because he said he would come to their aid".

Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) also said Iranian security forces had killed at least 45 protesters, including eight children, since the demonstrations began in late December.

Demonstrations continued across the country, with demonstrators pulling down the statue of the former senior Revolutionary Guards al-Quds force commander Qassem Suleimani in the southern Fars province.

Combined with US President Donald Trump's takeover of the Venezuelan oil industry after toppling the country's leader Nicolas Maduro, oil prices started to rise on fears over supply. Washington has threatened a military strike if the Iranian leadership killed protestors.

Brent crude rose 0.77% to $62.47, while West Texas Intermediate was up 0.78% to $58.21.

"Today's rebound follows heightened geopolitical risk, including renewed US threats toward Iran and continued efforts by the Trump administration to exert control over Venezuela's energy sector," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.

"Markets are also factoring in the potential impact of new sanctions targeting buyers of Russian oil, alongside expectations that commodity index rebalancing could bring fresh inflows into crude."

"Despite the recent rally, sentiment remains cautious, with expectations for a sizeable surplus of crude oil later in the year continuing to hang over the market."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com