Iran was plunged into a nationwide internet blackout Thursday as mass anti-government protests spread around the country, with Iranians angered by a flailing economy and crackdowns by security forces shouting slogans against the ruling theocratic regime.

As protests swelled around the country, Iran’s internet was shut down, and the heads of its judiciary and its security services warned of a harsh response amid calls for “freedom, freedom.”

“I think we’re at a near-total disconnection from the outside world now,” Amir Rashidi, an Iranian cybersecurity researcher who works for the nonprofit Miaan Group, told TechCrunch.