Iran imposes web blackout after Israel, U.S. strikes on Tehran

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Iran was plunged into an web blackout Saturday after Israel and the U.S. launched army strikes across the nation, in accordance with a world web monitor.

Inside hours of the strikes — which officers mentioned focused infrastructure and killed dozens of senior regime figures at a compound in Tehran— NetBlocks CEO Alp Toker confirmed connectivity began "flatlining."

"We're monitoring the continued blackout, however our evaluation is that that is straight out of Iran's wartime playbook and constant each technically and strategically with what we noticed through the 2025 Twelve-Day Battle with Israel," Toker instructed Fox Information Digital.

"Iran's web connectivity is now flatlining across the 1% stage, so the unique blackout the regime imposed through the morning has been consolidated," he confirmed.

"The blackout was imposed simply after 7:00 UTC, not lengthy after the assault on the Iranian regime compound," Toker clarified, including that Iran had been largely offline for roughly 12 hours following the assault.

"At 06:10 UTC, there may be the principle compound strike; at 07:10 UTC, telecoms disruption begins; at 08:00 UTC, the blackout is essentially in impact; and by 08:30 UTC, connectivity flatlines."

"Wartime nationwide blackouts are exceedingly uncommon world wide, and it is one thing we have solely actually seen at this scale in Iran," he mentioned.

President Donald Trump displays U.S. army operations in Iran following an Israeli strike in Tehran on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (@WhiteHouse/X)

Within the wake of the assault, dubbed Operation Epic Fury , President Donald Trump mentioned on Fact Social that the "heavy and pinpoint" bombing in Iran "will proceed uninterrupted all through the week or so long as needed to realize our goal of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!"

He claimed Iranian safety forces and members of the regime’s highly effective Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been already looking for immunity. He urged them to "peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots."

"We're listening to that lots of their IRGC, Army, and different Safety and Police Forces not need to battle and are searching for Immunity from us," Trump mentioned within the submit. "As I mentioned final night time, ‘Now they will have Immunity; later they solely get Loss of life!’"

Toker argued the timing of the blackout advised it was imposed intentionally because the regime sought to safe communications amid fears of additional concentrating on.

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TEHRAN, IRAN - FEBRUARY 28: Smoke rises over the town heart after an Israeli military launches 2nd wave of airstrikes on Iran on February 28, 2026. (Picture by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu through Getty Pictures) (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu through Getty Pictures)

"The Iranian regime may have deployed this new blackout to counter potential cyberattacks throughout their very own army operation, but additionally to keep away from leaking the places of senior regime figures by metadata and user-generated content material," he mentioned.

"Communications would have been restricted, and Iran's management would have proceeded with the belief that each one communications, together with satellite tv for pc or whitelisted networks, carry dangers," he mentioned earlier than claiming that "paranoia could be effectively grounded at this level, with the blackout a belated however direct response to that."

"These collaborating instantly would already know to keep away from know-how that might betray their whereabouts," Toker mentioned.

"Nonetheless, the metadata might effectively have performed an element in figuring out that the assembly of regime leaders was being held on the Tehran compound, who was in attendance, and at what time."

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On this handout picture supplied by the Workplace of the Supreme Chief of Iran, Iranian Supreme Chief Ali Khamenei addresses the nation in a state tv broadcast on June 18, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. (Workplace of the Supreme Chief of Iran through Getty Pictures)

Toker revealed that the broader community across the regime leaders and across the compound would not have had the identical strict restrictions.

"This sort of adjoining ‘background noise’ could be correlated in opposition to different intelligence sources to construct an understanding of exercise on the bottom," he added.

" Smartphones are a readily available , virtually ‘free’ supply of intelligence, and even when locked down, they finally connect with worldwide on-line providers and generate insights that can be utilized to pinpoint regime figures," Toker mentioned.

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"Within the aftermath of Saturday’s strike, this concern may have been excessive on the remaining Iranian management’s minds, particularly in the event that they did not have a transparent and particular understanding of how the assembly was compromised."

Iran has beforehand imposed sweeping web shutdowns during times of home unrest, together with nationwide protests in January, which noticed 1000's killed, usually looking for to curb the unfold of data and limit coordination.

Associated Article Emma Bussey is a breaking information author for Fox Information Digital. Earlier than becoming a member of Fox, she labored at The Telegraph with the U.S. in a single day group, throughout desks together with overseas, politics, information, sport and tradition.