Iran all but vanishes from the global internet amid US-Israel strikes

Iran's internet has plunged into a near-total blackout, with traffic down to around 1 percent of normal levels and connectivity described as "close to zero" as authorities curb access amid widening regional conflict.

Internet monitoring group NetBlocks said connectivity dropped early on Saturday, falling to roughly 1 percent of ordinary levels as attacks unfolded. In a post on X, it said the measure "limits civic engagement at a key moment for the country's future after the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei in US and Israeli air strikes."

Additional data from Cloudflare Radar showed traffic "close to zero across all major regions," with Tehran, Fars, Isfahan, Alborz, and Razavi Khorasan experiencing a "near-complete shutdown." This mirrors earlier state-ordered shutdowns in which international links are effectively cut, traffic falls off a cliff, and the country disappears from much of the global routing map almost overnight.

This blackout comes against the backdrop ...