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3. Iran Allows Overseas Calls as Death Toll From Protests Mounts

Iranians could call abroad on mobile phones Tuesday for the first time since communications were halted during a crackdown on nationwide protests in which activists said at least 646 people have been killed.

However, the regime did not ease restrictions on the internet or allow texting services to be restored. Although Iranians were able to call abroad, people outside the country could not call them, several people in the capital told The Associated Press.

Reportedly, sources in Iran described seeing a heavy security presence in central Tehran. Anti-riot police officers, wearing helmets and body armor, carried batons, shields, shotguns and tear gas launchers. They stood watch at major intersections. Nearby, the witnesses saw members of the Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force, who similarly carried firearms and batons. Security officials in plainclothes were visible in public spaces as well.

Several banks and government offices were burned during the unrest, they said. ATMs had been smashed and banks struggled to complete transactions without the internet, the witnesses added.

The nationwide shutdown of the internet by authorities in Iran, which activists fear is aimed at masking the scale of a crackdown on protests, has now lasted over 108 hours, a monitor said on Tuesday.

"It has been 108 hours since Iran introduced a nationwide internet shutdown, leaving Iranians isolated from the rest of the world and each other," said Netblocks in a post on X in its latest update.