Iran's power facilities hit, widespread blackouts reported

Iran – The Iranian Ministry of Energy announced on Sunday that power outages had occurred in Tehran and its surrounding areas, as well as in the neighboring Alborz Province, due to attacks on power generation facilities. According to Iran’s state television, "electricity has been cut off in these regions, and efforts are underway to resolve the issue." Previously, U.S. President Trump had threatened to attack Iran’s power plants if Tehran did not reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, though he later repeatedly delayed the ultimatum.

Internet blackout in Iran enters 30th day

"The internet blackout in Iran has now entered its 30th day, with nationwide internet censorship measures lasting 696 hours and entering its fifth week," said a report. Iranians have shared their difficult experiences fighting against the ongoing network disruption with AFP. This 30-day internet blockade, which began after Iran’s conflict with the United States and Israel, has isolated millions of Iranians from the outside world.

Global leading internet connectivity monitoring organization X NetBlocks reported on Sunday: "Life without internet is really hard." Arshia, a 37-year-old market manager, said she felt "massively stressed."

Although the domestic intranet remains operational, enabling local instant messaging and banking services to function normally, access to the global internet remains severely restricted. Many Iranians have no choice but to rely on state-controlled platforms or expensive internet solutions to stay in touch with loved ones. Maryam, a 33-year-old private-sector employee, described her struggles during the initial weeks: "Besides making phone calls, I couldn’t reach my family living in another city."

"Now we use Iran’s instant messaging apps to make video calls. It’s not ideal, but under these tough circumstances, we just have to manage as best we can."

AFP reporters based in Paris primarily contacted people trapped in Iran via WhatsApp or Telegram—but only during brief windows when VPNs provided temporary connectivity.

Twenty-seven-year-old businessman Milad struggled to maintain contact with relatives overseas.

He told an AFP reporter: "My family lives in Turkey, and I simply cannot connect with them online." "I can only call, but phone calls are very expensive, so I rarely hear from them." These restrictions have also limited access to information; Iranians within the country mainly rely on Iranian media, which provide only highly biased perspectives.

Source: rfi

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1861040512816347/

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