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Iran without internet for 60 hours as war with Israel continues
The shutdown, announced by Iranian authorities on Wednesday, is affecting the Iranian public's ability to express political viewpoints, and follow safety alerts
The internet shutdown in Iran continues amid its ongoing conflict with Israel, and it has largely been 60 hours now, a graph shared by cybersecurity watchdog NetBlocks.org showed this morning.
The shutdown, announced by Iranian authorities on Wednesday, is affecting the Iranian public's ability to express political viewpoints, and follow safety alerts amid Israeli airstrikes. According to NBC, access to WhatsApp, Instagram, Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, had been blocked in the country.
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The graph shared by the internet-access advocacy group shows internet restrictions starting in the country somewhere around June 16, with a nearly complete blackout from mid-Wednesday, June 18.
Despite the internet shutdown, some users maintained connectivity through virtual private networks, NetBlocks.org earlier said.
The shutdown is not affecting Iranians just in terms of voicing their political opinions, but is also restricting communication with their loved ones in times of distress.
Before its strikes, Israeli forces are issuing alerts through their Persian-language online channels in Iran, but civilians are still left unaware due to the internet shutdown.
Activists are looking at the move as psychological warfare, calling it an attempt by Iran to control the narrative. “We know why the Iranian regime shuts down. It wants to control information. So their goal is quite clear," Marwa Fatafta, the policy and advocacy director for digital rights group Access Now, was quoted by news agency AP.
However, an Iran government spokesperson has said that the internet access restrictions come in response to Israel's cyberattacks, NBC reported.
Iran and history of internet shutdowns
Iran has a history of shutting down internet services during protests and unrest, the most recent example being 2019, when Iran announced a 50% fuel hike plan leading to protests. The internet shutdown back then lasted six days.
The country has been tied in a conflict with Israel for over a week now since June 13, after "preemptive" Israeli airstrikes targeted nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists in Iran. In retaliation, Iran fired 450 missiles and 1,000 drones towards Israel, most of which were shot down.
