Iran uprising: Protesters hack state TV with threat to regime as Supreme Leader loses grip

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears to be losing his iron grip on power in the Islamic Republic as protesters in Iran continue to brazenly defy government orders. Last night protesters briefly hacked Iranian state-run television and interrupted a speech by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the news bulletin. The protesters replaced the speech with an image of the Supreme Leader with a target on his head and surrounded by flames.

The protesters also featured a call for fellow Iranians to “join us and rise up,” next to a photograph of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, whose death sparked the nationwide demonstrations.

The interruption also read “the blood of our youth is on your hands” and included photos of three other women killed in recent protests.

The brief interruption on IRIB lasted for approximately 15 seconds before the channel returned to a visibly stunned news anchor.

The hacker group, known as Edaalate Ali, later tweeted a clip of the interruption and added: “We ask all our dear compatriots to share the hacked image with friends and acquaintances so that we can convey the good news of the overthrow of the regime to everyone and write their names on their tombstones.”

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Ms Amini was detained in Tehran on 13 September by morality police for allegedly not covering her hair properly.

The 22-year-old Iranian Kurd died in custody on 16 September, three days after her arrest.

On Friday, Iran state corner enraged protesters further after claiming Ms Amini had died from multiple organ failure – and not from blows to the head, as her family and protesters argue.

A group of furious women students in the capital Tehran vented their anger on Saturday after they were filmed chanting “get lost” at President Ebrahim Raisi.