| ▲ | bhouston 6 hours ago |
| I suspect the Internet blackout in Iran is not actually related to its citizens - it isn't about silencing its citizens. It is to prevent hacking and tracking by US and Israel of what is going on over there, it is defensive since it has been shown that Iran's connected infrastructure is thoroughly compromised. |
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| ▲ | burnrate 6 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| It’s 100% to prevent citizens from becoming organized. The regime is most fearful of this. |
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| ▲ | bigyabai 6 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | There's multiple motives, not just counter-organization. A media blackout prevents OSINT damage analysis, much like how the IDF and CENTCOM both censor reporting of attacks on their in-theater installations. | | |
| ▲ | Pay08 2 hours ago | parent [-] | | They could easily just censor that, especially since a dictatorship has far more control over the media compared to democracies. | | |
| ▲ | bigyabai 2 hours ago | parent [-] | | The OSINT is a bigger threat than the state media in Iran, hence the internet blackout. | | |
| ▲ | Pay08 39 minutes ago | parent [-] | | No, the internet blackout is so their populace doesn't rise up against them. |
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| ▲ | dzhiurgis an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | There's something to be said if it connects (via ethernet or via hidden eSIM) Starlink to local Iranian internet - it is hard to access otherwise. There is no doubt that CIA has access to Starlink, that's a massive amount of crucial intel right there in battlefront. | |
| ▲ | tokioyoyo 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | How did people organize pre-Internet times though? | | | |
| ▲ | fgfarben 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | which is the exact same reason China bans Starlink. | | |
| ▲ | SXX 2 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | Chinas level of internet filtration and censorship nowhere near Iran or Russia. You just buy tourist eSIM and you're golden in China and literally everyone who wants do it. Chinese government don't care about small percent of population accessing open internet. | | |
| ▲ | dzhiurgis an hour ago | parent [-] | | FWIW NordVPN doesn't have Iran, Russia or China as their exit node. | | |
| ▲ | SXX 23 minutes ago | parent [-] | | Because neither is privacy friendly and open country. It's just amount of money and effort Russia puts into blocking VPNs, proxies and encrypted communication is well beyond China. If you travel to China bypassing all the censorship is super straightforward. In Russia whatever worked month ago will likely not work now. By this time all the wireless mobile internet in Russia is mostly whitelist-only when it works at all. And they start to test whitelists on broadband internet now. And Iran is likely shut off internet for good until reginme collapses. |
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| ▲ | markdown 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | I wonder why BYD is banned in the US. Are we afraid they'll be used to transport people to gatherings? | | |
| ▲ | SXX 2 hours ago | parent [-] | | I'm not from US, but China is certainly subsidize a lot of its manufacturers to capture global markets while not giving access to it's local market to western companies. US is able to produce cars on its soil and there is no reason to give up this industry to foreign country. It's pretty sane policy. |
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| ▲ | recroad 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | [flagged] | |
| ▲ | sysguest 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | this well... so obvious | |
| ▲ | xbmcuser 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | I think the regime narrative is mostly made up by Americans what's the difference between any of the Arab countries from Iran. The only difference is they are not controlled by America. It the same bullshit narrative of promoting democracy but in reality it's just about pushing for a government no matter how bad as long as it supports US control. | | |
| ▲ | boc 4 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | Iranians are not Arabs and thousands of them got gunned down earlier this year protesting the regime. "America bad" doesn't change the fact that the Iranian people deserve a better future. | | |
| ▲ | xbmcuser an hour ago | parent [-] | | Who said 1000s of people were gunned down. The pedophile in chief says that and we are supposed to believe it the same guy that has won this war 10+ times already. Bombed and killed thousands of women and children. If you want the Iranian people to have better future remove the sanctions let them grow economically they will gain their own freedoms not the shackles you want on them in the name of your freedoms. |
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| ▲ | E-Reverance 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | FYI it’s not an Arab country | | |
| ▲ | xbmcuser 5 hours ago | parent [-] | | [flagged] | | |
| ▲ | halflife 4 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | Wow, there are no words.
You would rather live in Tehran or Tel Aviv? | | |
| ▲ | Thiez an hour ago | parent [-] | | Preferably neither, but anywhere is better than Israel. Who would want to live in a genocidal apartheid state? Iran was a democracy before US and UK intervention, perhaps they will be again when they win the illegal war against them. |
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| ▲ | tptacek 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | It's not an Arab country at all. Iranians are Persian, not Arab. Iran is low-key at war with most of the gulf Arab states. | | |
| ▲ | xbmcuser 4 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | And no where in any of my statements did I call it an Arab country. I was just calling out hypocrisy of the west when realistically Iran regime is as good or bad as any of the Arab countries or even the untouchable Israel. | |
| ▲ | csomar 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | Not sure why he is being called for this (or maybe he edited his comment?) but I re-read it a couple times and he is not saying Iran is an Arab country but comparing to the other Arab countries. | | |
| ▲ | xbmcuser 2 hours ago | parent [-] | | It's normal. They can't debate the actual statement, so they talk about something irrelevant to derail the conversation. |
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| ▲ | adam_arthur 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| The blackout started back in January before the US even got involved. Due to widespread protests and an attempt to crack down on coordination. This chain of events was widely reported. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Internet_blackout_in_Iran |
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| ▲ | Mikhail_Edoshin 2 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | Before the US started an open war. US has been involved in a relentless anti-Iranian campaign since before I was born (I'm 55). | |
| ▲ | Ancapistani 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | It definitely ramped up with the invasion. I watched the webcam streams go dark. |
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| ▲ | tjwebbnorfolk 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| The internet is only off for those who don't have a special sim card, i.e. those who aren't associated with the IRGC. |
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| ▲ | ShabbyDoo 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Is Iran's domestic internet still fully operational (sans access to/from the outside world)? If so, I wouldn't think the cut-off would help much security-wise because a single Starlink terminal would allow the US/Israel domestic access. |
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| ▲ | Pay08 2 hours ago | parent [-] | | I don't think it is. At least from Iranians I've heard from, domestic internet was online for a little while but was turned off in February or so. |
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| ▲ | stingraycharles 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| How do people communicate now? And why wouldn’t that be compromised? |
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| ▲ | throwawayheui57 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| It’s defensive indeed! It’s defense against the people whom the regime is most afraid of! |
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| ▲ | rayiner 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Except that Iran has been doing it since 2019: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_Iran |
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| ▲ | an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| [deleted] |
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| ▲ | mullingitover 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| Don’t know why you’re getting downvoted for pointing out the obvious: yes obviously the US and Israel will exploit the information system of their enemy if they can, and it’s absolutely rational to deny them the opportunity to do so. |
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| ▲ | throwawayheui57 4 hours ago | parent [-] | | Should internet and outside access be cut for people of Gaza and Lebanon too? Aren’t they targeted by Israel as well? | | |
| ▲ | AngryData 2 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | If they could credibly threaten your infrastructure then it makes sense. If they have no real organized hacking capabilities then no. But the US has already attacked Iran through computers before with Stuxnet and is the world leader in software and networking knowledge so it does make perfect sense for Iran to disconnect its networks from outside. You might also have to consider the propaganda campaigns the US could run against an Iranian population with web access. If the population isn't more discontent now than it already was, "secretly" replacing commercial ad placements on western websites with US propaganda when the requests come from Iranian sources could make them discontent or inflame them further, which is bad for the Iranian government. | | |
| ▲ | throwawayheui57 2 hours ago | parent [-] | | To say these on HN of all places! > consider the propaganda campaigns the US could run against an Iranian population with web access. I’m amazed at people who have access to freely express their opinions online, prescribe that 90m people should not have the right to freely access information because they somehow can’t be trusted to not fall for propaganda. What a patronizing and self righteous take. | | |
| ▲ | AngryData an hour ago | parent [-] | | Just because I can see things from the view of the current Iranian government doesn't mean I support them or their actions. And its not like the US does nothing to suppress foreign propaganda already, they just more often try to drown it out with our own. Hell we just recently were talking about banning tiktok because just shaping what user-made videos was considered too strong of an ability to push Chinese propaganda and influence US citizens. And yes, we already know large masses of people will readily fall for propaganda, just look at the US political landscape, look at the entire field of marketing which is just propaganda for profit. Everybody across the entire world is vulnerable to propaganda, marketing and propaganda didn't become less common going into the 21st century, it just got better and harder to identify. |
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| ▲ | t-3 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | The government of Lebanon is cooperating with Israel - it's only the southerners/Hezbollah in conflict, at least for now. The people of Gaza are cut off for the most part. The strict censorship inside Israel is what you should compare to - not as strict as a total access ban, but if you say the wrong things or take pictures of the wrong stuff you're going to prison. | | |
| ▲ | nandomrumber 3 hours ago | parent [-] | | > but if you say the wrong things or take pictures of the wrong stuff you're going to prison. That’s true in most counties. And for good reason. Israel is tiny, and has a population of 10.1 million. And a fair amount of military firepower. You probably shouldn’t be taking photos of, say, Iron Dome equipment locations. |
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| ▲ | mullingitover 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | My point is that the people of Iran aren’t the target of the disruption. Remember when Ukraine used the Russian cellular internet to operate drones that destroyed numerous Russian heavy bomber aircraft? That’s what the US/Israel would logically be expected to do if there were wide open internet access in Iran. This is obvious game theory playing out militarily, people only see political suppression but warfare is a totally different ballgame. If China were waging large scale war on the US I’d expect the exact same countermeasures to happen. |
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