Iran restores internet access following ceasefire with Israel
People wave the national flags of Iraq, Iran and Lebanon as Iraqis celebrate in front of the Iranian embassy in Baghdad on June 24, 2025, following a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Israel and Iran said on June 24 they had agreed to US President Donald Trump's proposal for a ceasefire, on the 12th day of war between the foes. Photo: AFP
Listen to article
Iranian authorities on Wednesday announced the gradual easing of internet restrictions imposed during the 12-day war with Israel, following the implementation of a ceasefire between the longtime foes.
Strict internet curbs had been gradually imposed since June 13, when Israel launched a major attack on Iran, which hit back with waves of missile strikes. A ceasefire that came into force on Tuesday appears to be holding.
"The communication network is gradually returning to its previous state," the Revolutionary Guards' cyber unit said in a statement carried by state media.
Read More: Iran's parliament passes bill to halt cooperation with IAEA
It said Israel had waged a "widespread cyber war" with the goal of disrupting digital services and "abusing the network infrastructure to collect information and intensify the aggression".
Iran's communications minister, Sattar Hashemi, also said in a post on X: "With the normalisation of conditions, the state of communication access has returned to its previous conditions".
باز هم مردم شریف و صبور، در سخت‌ترین شرایط، با تحمل دشواری‌ها، پای کار ایران عزیزمان ایستادند.
حالا نوبت ماست.
با عادی شدن شرایط، وضعیت دسترسی‌های ارتباطی، به شرایط قبل بازگشت.
از همه مردم به‌ویژه بخش ارتباطات و فعالان اقتصاد دیجیتال کشور، بابت این وضعیت تحمیلی صمیمانه عذر خواهی… — Sattar Hashemi (@HashemiSattar) June 25, 2025
Israel's attack on Iran targeted Iranian nuclear facilities and killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists.
Even before the war, Iranian authorities had internet restrictions in place especially on popular social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and others.
Iranians have over the years grown accustomed to using virtual private networks, or VPNs, to bypass internet restrictions.
In December, Iran's top council responsible for safeguarding the internet voted to lift a ban on the popular messaging application WhatsApp.
On Wednesday, WhatsApp appeared to be still blocked in Iran, only accessible through VPN services.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
13 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
Terror nexus
Listen to article Pakistan has flagged an existential threat that it faces from a fugitive and outlawed organisation based in Afghanistan. The United Nations Security Council has once again been informed that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the TTP, is freely operating from the West Asian state, and all efforts on the part of Islamabad to persuade the authorities in Kabul to move against them have fallen on deaf ears. This past Tuesday, it was brought on record before the 15-member world body by Pakistan's envoy that the TTP is the largest UN-designated terrorist group operating from Afghan soil with an estimated strength of around 6,000 fighters, posing a direct threat to Pakistan's national security. The spike in terrorist activities inside Pakistan during the last two years is a case in point, and the TTP has now struck a nexus with other non-state actors including Al-Qaeda and Baloch militant groups. Pakistan is in a catch-22 situation as it confronts terrorism from its western and eastern frontiers, and the new revulsion on the Iranian front has made the strategic equation more worrisome. The intensity could be gauged from the fact that Pakistan has confiscated a huge cache of modern weapons abandoned by the US forces while leaving Afghanistan in a state of lurch. Unscrupulous entities have laid their hands on this armament which has led to massive bloodshed in Pakistan, especially in the restive provinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. This is where Kabul's cooperation is desired along with a trans-regional counter-terrorism understanding to exterminate the terror nexus. The role of the US and the UNSC is essential if this simmering threat perception has to be dealt with in a sophisticated manner so that the evolving geo-economics is saved from waywardness. The mushrooming of terrorists, incidentally, has taken a new turn as India-backed proxies are now raising their ugly head. The killing of 11 'khwarij' at the hands of security forces yesterday during intelligence-based operations in K-P amplifies the threat module, and is in need of being tackled lethally. This evolving trepidation must come to an end.
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Seven Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza blast, army says
A young man covers his head with an Israeli flag as he mourns Ronel Ben-Moshe, a soldier killed in the Gaza Strip the day before, during his funeral in Rehovot on June 25, 2026. Seven Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza after an attack on their armoured vehicle, Israel said on June 25, in one of the deadliest incidents for its forces in the more than 20-month war. Photo: AFP Listen to article Seven soldiers were killed in Gaza after an attack on their armoured vehicle, Israel said Wednesday, in one of the deadliest incidents for its forces in the more than 20-month war. The troops were operating in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis on Tuesday when their vehicle caught fire after assailants attached an explosive device to it, the Israeli military said. The army's website listed the names of the seven soldiers, including a platoon commander from the battalion who "fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip". "Yesterday afternoon, during an operational activity, an explosive device was attached to an armored Puma vehicle belonging to the brigade's forces," military spokesperson Effie Defrin told a briefing. "As a result, the armored vehicle caught fire. Rescue forces and helicopters were dispatched to the scene and made attempts to extract the soldiers, but were unsuccessful." Read More: Hamas-Israel ceasefire talks gain momentum as Trump says 'great progress' on Gaza The fatalities fuelled calls for a settlement to end the fighting in Gaza. "The war in Gaza has run its course, it is being conducted with no clear purpose and no concrete plan," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main group representing the families of those abducted by Hamas, said in a statement. The war was triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 56,077 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The United Nations considers its figures reliable. Also Read: US gives $30m to controversial aid group in Gaza despite violence concerns Of the 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants in October 2023, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. The deadliest incident for Israeli forces in the war was recorded on January 22, 2024, when 21 soldiers were killed in the collapse of two buildings that came under fire from Palestinian gunmen. More than 440 Israeli soldiers have died in the war so far. The territory of more than two million people is suffering from famine-like conditions after Israel blocked all supplies from early March and continues to impose restrictions, according to rights groups. After Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday, Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir said focus would now shift back to Gaza.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Israeli commandos operated in Iran during 12-day war: military
JERUSALEM: The head of Israel's military said Wednesday that Israeli commandos had operated secretly inside Iran during the countries' 12-day war. "We achieved full control over Iranian airspace and in every location where we chose to operate," chief of staff Eyal Zamir said in a televised address. "This was made possible thanks to, among other things, coordination and tactical deception carried out by our air force and ground commando units," he added. ME bourses advance on Iran-Israel ceasefire "The forces operated in secret deep within enemy territory and created operational freedom of action for us." Both countries have claimed victory in the conflict since a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. The war erupted on June 13 when Israel launched a surprise bombing campaign that it said aimed to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon -- an ambition Iran has consistently denied. Zamir was the first Israeli official to say publicly that Israeli soldiers had operated on the ground in Iran. "The campaign is not yet finished," he added. "We must remain on guard -- many challenges await."
