How Journalists Are Reporting From Iran With No Internet

After strikes killed senior Iranian officials, Iran cut off internet access. Journalists are relying on satellite links, encrypted apps, and smuggled footage to report from inside the country.

Coordinated Israeli and American strikes hit a military compound in Tehran on Saturday, killing dozens of senior regime figures including Iran’s supreme leader, Ali al-Khamenei.

Within hours, the government imposed a near-total internet blackout, cutting the country off from the outside world. Mostafa Zadeh, a Tehran-based international journalist, tells WIRED Middle East that he was not surprised when “the United States struck, nor when his phone’s network died and fixed internet lines followed.”

“It’s very similar to the state’s response to the January security crackdown, and even the bouts of unrest that came before,” Zadeh says. The government has routinely cut internet access during crises, typically citing security issues as the cause.

“The Iranian government’s primary concern ...