Iran’s Internet Blackout Adds New Dangers for Civilians Amid Israeli Bombings

Iran's internet has been severely restricted during the Israel-Iran conflict, cutting civilians off from news and loved ones, according to monitoring groups and digital rights analysts. Internet connectivity in Iran fell 54 percent on June 13, after Israel's Air Force bombed targets in Iran, according to Doug Madory of monitoring firm Kentik, with further drops of 49 percent on June 17 and 90 percent the following day. Witness analyst Mahsa Alimardani says the restrictions mainly serve the regime's goal of maintaining control over information, while Lukasz Olejnik of King's College London says shutdowns are largely ineffective against real state-level cyberattacks.