TEHRAN – A massive digital blackout gripped Iran as country’s internet has been almost completely shut down for the past six days, according to the global internet monitoring organization NetBlocks.
The watchdog reports that even after 144 hours, Iran’s connectivity collapsed to just 1% of normal levels, cutting the nation off from the digital world.
This near-total shutdown created communication blackout, making it extremely difficult, and in many cases impossible, for international news agencies to report on events unfolding inside the country or verify information on the ground.
Internet blackouts are widely seen as one of the most powerful tools used to control information during periods of unrest. Earlier this year, the Iranian government also blocked internet services during anti-government protests, raising concerns about censorship and the restriction of information flow.
On the seventh day of the conflict involving US, Israel against Iran, heavy airstrikes hit capital city Tehran and several other Iranian cities in what is said to be a major escalation in the war. Tel Aviv said it launched a new phase of attacks targeting government and military infrastructure, while the US used Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to drop bunker-busting bombs on underground missile facilities, according to Brad Cooper of United States Central Command.
The bombardment caused large explosions across Tehran and other cities such as Shiraz, Qom, Isfahan and Kermanshah, with Iran’s Red Crescent reporting at least 1,332 deaths so far, including many civilians. Iranian officials said the country would expand its retaliatory attacks, while US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that strikes would intensify in the coming days. Meanwhile, an investigation is underway into a deadly strike on a girls’ primary school in Minab that killed many children, with UNICEF reporting at least 181 child deaths overall and UN rights chief Volker Türk calling for a swift and transparent inquiry.
Iran launches large-scale retaliatory strikes on Tel Aviv amid ongoing conflict
