Fears and hopes for Londoners' families in Iran

"It's a strange time.

"You're watching footage of your fellow countrymen being extremely courageous, knowing the massive risk there is from a regime that is not afraid of killing protestors."

London-based Iranian Mahsa Alimardani speaks of a "sense of anxiety" for her family and her country amid what she describes as "unprecedented" unrest in Iran.

"There is a sense of cautious hope that Iranians have often been afraid to have. But at the same time it's mixed with anxiety and fear about what's going to happen if your loved ones are caught up in these protests.

"So it's a very mixed bag of hope and fear and all of these different emotions," she told the BBC.

Alimardani, who works for the human rights NGO Witness, said when she last spoke to her family in Tehran on Thursday, they were "anticipating an "uprising".

"We were discussing how they should replenish groceries and medication as there was this expectation that things would not be operating as usual.

"The call for a mass uprising had been circulating for a few days, so a lot of people were prepared and a lot of people were excited, despite the fact there were very real risks.

As more anti-government demonstrations erupted, there were reports of violence against protestors by security forces.

But Alimardani does not know if any of her relatives have been caught up in the protests - she been unable to contact them since the internet was cut off in Iran late on Thursday.

It's been a "constant blackout," she said.

"The messages on WhatsApp still just have one check mark. They haven't delivered yet.

"It's very anxiety inducing, not having access to information, not knowing if your loved ones participated [in the protests] or if they're okay.

"There's indications that it has been quite violent and there is a significant death toll so it's scary knowing that everyone was excited to be out on the streets, everyone was extremely courageous but that courage often comes with a massive price and that is very worrying.

"But for those of us who are outside of Iran, we are physically safe and privileged but our hearts are in Iran."

For Mohamad, who runs the Persian restaurant chain Naroon in London, the communication blackout in Iran is stressful and worrying.

"My parents, sister, all my family and friends are there.

"We can't contact anyone, even with the the normal landline, we can't get any news from the time that everything shut down."

He said 40 to 50 of his Iranian employees were "in the same circumstances".

"They can't contact anyone [in Iran] and you can see they are very worried all the time and they try and get at least some news from their family.

"Now is a tough time for any Iranian living outside Iran."

Another Iranian woman living in London, Roya Pirae, tells the BBC this wave of protests is a difficult reminder of her mother's death.

Pirae said her mother Minoo Majidi was shot dead by the authorities in Iran during the Woman Life Freedom protests in 2022.

She fled to the UK with her family after an image she posted of social media showing her standing over her mother's grave with a shaved head went viral.

"We are living those days again", she said.

But through her grief, she is hopeful.

"These uprisings are continuous, and they are attached together. We still have the same goal.

"We still want freedom."

Additional reporting by Nora Fakim.

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