Chaos in Iran: Regime Disrupts Internet and Phone Lines, Escalating Censorship Amidst Resurfacing Protest Footage
Images shown on Iranian state television depicting demonstrations
In the midst of heightened information dependency due to Israeli attacks, the Iranian government is taking drastic measures to suppress unrest. Internet access and phone lines have been disrupted, with a sudden appearance of protest images from the 2022 uprising on state television—a movement that teetered the regime on the edge of collapse.
State television has fallen prey to cyber intrusions, and a broadcast announcement shared by Iranian media reports these disruptions as hostile satellite attacks that scramble program frequencies. The footage flowing on social media suggests an infiltration, displaying snippets from the deafening mass demonstrations that made headlines last fall.
The "Woman, Life, Freedom" protest movement began to wreak havoc on Iran's leadership in 2022. The movement was ignited in response to the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, while in police custody. The ensuing protests couldn't be contained, and services like WhatsApp and Google Play were barred, further restricting communication and the distribution of information.
In a surprising twist, while Iran's state-controlled media propagate their narrative, Iran's internally restricted internet continues to function, allowing the dissemination of news, both on and off social media.
Netblocks, a respected monitoring force focused on internet shutdowns, reported a "near-total national internet blackout," underscoring the seriousness of the situation. Tehran residents confirmed the disconnection by phone.
The Iranian Communications Ministry justified the restrictions by accusing the enemy aggressor of inappropriately using the national network for military purposes and endangering civilian lives and property. Despite the limitation, internal communication lines remained active. Around three hours following this restriction, contact with Iran by international phone lines was no longer possible.
In a repressive attempt to silence dissent and control the narrative, the Iranian government continues to curb flow of information, revoking accessibility to messaging apps and uncensored internet. This attempt to control the uprising echoes a long history of online restrictions that aim to hamper the organization and distribution of protests during times of political unrest.
This suppression of news dissemination has had a profound impact, shrinking the flow of updates in real-time and making it difficult for citizens to stay informed. The limited access to independent reporting obstructs the message and scale of the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement, forcing onlookers to rely on alternative or clandestine channels to gather information.
In essence, the Iranian government's takedown of internet and phone services serves as a means to silence dissent and control the narrative in response to the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement, severely restricting communication channels and hindering domestic and global awareness of the uprising. [4]
- Iran
- Israel War
- Israel
- Mehr News Agency
- Middle East Conflict
- Censorship
- Amidst the escalating Censorship in Iran, the European Union is committed to the development of a common foreign and security policy regarding the suppression of unrest in the Middle East Conflict, particularly in light of the Iranian government's disruptions of internet access and phone lines.
- The ongoing chaos in Iran, characterized by the disruption of internet access and phone lines, has become a general-news topic of politics and crime-and-justice, with international organizations such as the Mehr News Agency reporting on the government's censorship measures in response to the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement.
