Iran experienced an internet blackout on Saturday following military strikes carried out by the United States and Israel, as reported by worldwide internet monitoring organizations.
Hours after the airstrikes—targeting key infrastructure and reportedly resulting in numerous casualties among regime officials in Tehran—NetBlocks CEO Alp Toker noted a significant decline in connectivity. Connectivity has begun to “flatten,” he stated.
He explained, “We are closely monitoring the ongoing power outage, and it appears to be aligned with Iran’s wartime strategies, reflecting tactics employed during the 2025 twelve-day conflict with Israel.” Connectivity in the country fell to around 1%, and he confirmed that the initial blackout, initiated by the Iranian regime, was intensified shortly after the military actions.
The power outage began around 07:00 UTC, shortly following the assault on Iranian governmental sites, leading to approximately 12 hours with the country largely offline. Toker detailed the timeline: a significant strike was executed at 06:10 UTC, communication failures commenced at 07:10 UTC, a near-complete blackout was recorded by 08:00 UTC, with connectivity dropping to nil by 08:30 UTC.
Toker also pointed out that large-scale power outages during wartime are quite uncommon globally, and the scale observed in Iran is unprecedented.
In the aftermath of the strikes, which President Donald Trump referred to as “Operation Epic Fury,” he declared on Truth Social that intense bombing campaigns would persist throughout the week, striving for peace in the Middle East and beyond.
Trump alleged that Iranian security forces, including members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, were seeking safety for themselves. He called for “peaceful merging with Iranian patriots.” Interestingly, he remarked, “We are hearing many of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and other security personnel no longer wish to fight and are seeking immunity from us.” He seemed to contradict himself, asserting, “This gives them immunity, but all they get is death!”
Toker suggested the timing of the outages indicated a deliberate strategy by the Iranian regime to safeguard communications amid fears of increased targeting.
According to him, the blackout was likely executed not just to counteract potential cyberattacks but also to prevent disclosures of critical location data concerning regime officials. He added that authorities would have operated under the premise that all means of communication posed risks, concluding that the fear was justified at this stage.
“Those involved face-to-face should already comprehend the need to avoid technologies that might reveal their whereabouts,” Toker said. He elaborated that metadata could potentially reveal critical details regarding meetings and attendees within the regime.
In the wake of the airstrikes, concerns were heightened among remaining leadership figures, particularly if they lacked clarity on the integrity of their communications. It’s worth noting that Iran has enacted total internet shutdowns during past domestic unrest, often to suppress information flow and collaboration during protests that led to significant casualties.
