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As the U.S. and Israel bomb Iran for the 11th day, the Iranian government is still imposing an internet blackout. The global internet monitor NetBlocks shows that connectivity in Iran is at just 1% of ordinary levels. As Durrie Bouscaren reports, this has made it difficult for people to coordinate local rescue efforts, reach loved ones abroad and for human rights groups to get information out.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Farsi through voice distorter).
DURRIE BOUSCAREN: In a video shared with NPR, a young woman receives a call from her brother in Iran.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Farsi through voice distorter).
BOUSCAREN: She asked NPR to not use their names and distort their voices to avoid repercussions from the Iranian regime. With the internet blocked in Iran, people rely on prepaid phone cards to call abroad. Due to the war, they're being sold for about $50 and last just five to seven minutes.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Farsi through voice distorter).
BOUSCAREN: The brother, who is near an Iranian port in the Persian Gulf, says there are checkpoints all over with military vehicles out in the street. Mass text messages are being sent by the government warning people not to protest.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Farsi through voice distorter).
BOUSCAREN: "They're saying that anyone who comes to the street and chants, whatever they do, are labeled by the authorities as, quote, 'Israeli soldiers' and are a direct target," he says. The only independent news channel he can reach with a satellite is Iran International, an outlet that is based in London but broadcasts in Farsi and changes its signals to prevent jamming. Even watching this can be risky.
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SALAR VELAYATMADAR: (Speaking Farsi).
BOUSCAREN: On state television, Salar Velayatmadar, a former IRGC commander and current member of parliament, issued a warning to anyone watching Iran International or who speaks a word that aligns with the enemy.
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VELAYATMADAR: (Speaking Farsi).
BOUSCAREN: "Your death sentence has been issued," he says.
AMIR RASHIDI: They want to project power.
BOUSCAREN: Amir Rashidi is director of digital rights and security at Miaan Group, which offers technical assistance to human rights organizations. Rashidi says Iran's government has two motives for shutting down the internet. One, it wants to protect itself from cyberattacks. Two, it's a way to control the narrative internally.
RASHIDI: According to the Iranian law, having a Starlink is equivalent to running espionage operation for Israel.
BOUSCAREN: Some Iranians have been able to evade the blackout with Starlink terminals built by the U.S. company SpaceX. Rashidi says there are believed to be about 50,000 terminals in Iran right now, but it's hard to tell.
RASHIDI: Sometimes people, for the security, are moving around. And, you know, they might turn it on, turn it off.
BOUSCAREN: Starlink has played a crucial role in getting firsthand videos and information out of the country during times of crisis, especially during the crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands of protesters in early January. Other tech-savvy Iranians have repurposed local networks and found alternative ways to get online, Rashidi says. But for most of Iran's 90 million people, they've been left to survive a war with limited information about what's happening around them.
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BOUSCAREN: And that's created another phenomenon. At Kapikoy, the main crossing from Iran into Turkey, Iranian families make their way to minibuses, waiting to take them into town, but some are crossing the border in the other direction to go back to their families in Iran.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Farsi).
BOUSCAREN: This father of two, who asked not to be named for his safety, works in construction in Turkey. But with the internet blocked, he can't speak to his family in Iran, so he's going back.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Farsi).
BOUSCAREN: "They're bombing everywhere. Of course we're worried," he says. "We need to go back to be with our families." For NPR News, I'm Durrie Bouscaren, Istanbul.
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