Iranians injured by airstrikes speak to CNN from hospital beds in Tehran
The Israeli military has repeatedly said it has 'only' targeted military installations yet the Iranian government insists that there have been more than 400 deaths, the majority of whom are civilians. CNN's Fred Pleitgen visited a hospital in the Iranian capital of Tehran to hear from residents injured in airstrikes.
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Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Life is full of unexpected surprises': People trying to call Iran meet mysterious voice message
People trying to call friends and loved ones inside Iran have instead been met with strange, pre-recorded voice messages, which some experts believe may be part of the regime's wider internet blackout. In a recording of a telephone call heard by CNN, a person outside of Iran hoping to hear their friend's voice on the other line, was instead met with a robotic voice. 'Hello, and thank you for taking the time to listen,' the voice says. 'Life is full of unexpected surprises,' it continues, 'and these surprises can sometimes bring joy while, at other times, they challenge us. 'The key is to discover the strength within us to overcome these challenges.' The unsettling message, which lasts nearly 90 seconds, then goes on to recommend the listener close their eyes and imagine themself in a place that brings them 'peace and happiness.' While different variations have been reported, this version appears to have been the one most commonly heard by people outside Iran placing calls to mobile phones inside the country on Wednesday and Thursday. No similar message was reported when calling landlines. The messages were widely heard after Iran imposed nationwide temporary restrictions on internet access on Wednesday, citing security concerns. This meant WhatsApp was down, so people abroad began calling their friends and family in Iran directly, rather than via the app. The message is reportedly not heard if the call is made through an app. The initial assumption for many Iranians was that the messages were the result of an Israeli cyberattack. Others see the Iranian authorities as being behind them. Alp Toker, the founder and director of NetBlocks, a non-governmental organization that monitors internet governance, believes the messages are an attempt by the Iranian government to limit telecommunications, as part of the wider internet censorship measures. 'The point is, when the internet is cut, the phones need to go somewhere, and that will go to the fallback message on the device,' he told CNN. Toker added it was a phenomenon NetBlocks had seen in different places around the world when internet access was cut. 'Sometimes it will have an advert for summer vacations and sometimes it will have some other nonsense,' he said. According to Toker, the messages are text-to-speech generated. He believes they appear to have been set up rapidly. 'It's in the format of a normal gateway answering message of the type you might get from a national gateway when a phone doesn't answer,' he said. 'It seems that they've gone with the settings, and there's a little box where you can put in the settings and they've put something in there, pre-AI generated.' Meanwhile, a UK-based telecommunications expert who listened to a recording of the most commonly heard message told CNN that 'the call appears to be hijacked after the second ring, which is highly unusual and deeply concerning. This suggests interference at the network level – well before a proper connection is established.' The expert asked not to be named for safety reasons. Neither Israel nor Iran has made a public statement on the recorded phone messages. Access to international internet services had been partially restored in parts of Iran on Saturday 'after approximately 62 hours of severe disruption,' NetBlocks said. 'While some regions have seen improvements, overall connectivity remains below ordinary levels, continuing to hinder people's ability to communicate freely and access independent information,' it added. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that international internet services would resume by 8 p.m. local time Saturday, citing the communications minister. However, Tasnim later reported that this was not the case, citing the same minister. According to the communications ministry, Iranians abroad can now contact their families inside Iran through domestic messaging apps. The Iranian government has frequently restricted internet access in the country. During nationwide protests in 2022, authorities implemented multiple internet shutdowns in an effort to stifle dissent.
CNN
13 minutes ago
- CNN
'It's a scary time to be here right now': Americans stuck in Israel are desperate to get out
Karen and Omri Mamon, dual American-Israeli citizens, traveled to Israel last month to attend the wedding of Omri's sister. They didn't know they would end up spending their holiday moving from one house to another, searching for shelter. A week after the wedding, Israel launched its surprise attack on Iran, and missiles began flying over the skies, forcing both airspaces to shut down. Most flights out of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport were canceled, leaving many stranded and unable to get home. 'The first night, we went down to the shelter three times, and since then, we're just jumping between houses trying to find safe rooms. We've been trying to find a way out of Israel back home to Florida since then,' Omri Mamon told CNN. Mamon said they've lived in Israel before and experienced having to shelter, 'but this time is different.' 'The bombs are bigger, the noises are extremely high … you hear bombs everywhere,' he added. Dozens of Americans who have been trying to leave Israel gathered at a hotel in central Israel on Saturday, where US embassy consular staff began processing their departures. Earlier in the week, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on social media that the embassy was arranging evacuation flights and ships for American citizens who wished to leave. Huckabee did not say when the evacuation efforts would begin. According to US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, more than 25,000 people have sought information from the State Department about the 'situation in Israel, the West Bank and Iran.' There are about 700,000 Americans living in Israel, according to Huckabee. Several Americans at the hotel told CNN that the embassy had organized flights to Athens, and from there, they would be able to catch flights back to the US. It was unclear, though, when those flights would be scheduled. The Mamons were on the list to go, but others, like Elana Hayman, are still waiting to be processed. Hayman traveled to Israel with her family from Los Angeles at the beginning of June for a holiday. An Iranian missile struck a building right next to the apartment they were staying at in Tel Aviv. Apart from experiencing an earthquake, Hayman told CNN she had never felt such strong shockwaves before. 'It was so intense that I thought it hit our building. It shook us to the core. … I actually hear the sound every night. When I think about it, I can hear it over and over again,' she said. Her 18-year-old daughter Noa, who has anxiety, said it was a terrifying experience. 'It was really bad. I was really scared. I just wanted to find any way to leave. … It's a scary time to be here right now,' she said. As the evacuation process progresses slowly, Hayman — like many others — are still trying to find a way out of Israel. The US embassy said in a security alert last week that the land crossings from Israel to Jordan and Egypt are options but acknowledged that each comes with its own risks. Jordanian airspace has closed sporadically since the conflict began, and the US cannot offer emergency services to American citizens traveling through the Sinai Peninsula to catch international flights out of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Some of those waiting at the hotel, who did not wish to be named, told CNN around 30 Americans were there for three hours to get processed but were told to come back another day because the priority was for the elderly, sick and families with children. The Mamons suspect they were processed so quickly because their son has autism. 'The main thing was to bring him back home; he was our priority. … He had a really rough time here with the sirens, noises, the shelters, and lots of people shouting,' Karen Mamon said. Despite feeling relieved to have been processed, Omri Mamon still says 'anything could happen.' 'We're not celebrating yet,' he said.
CNN
17 minutes ago
- CNN
Iranian FM meets with UK, Germany, France, EU counterparts
French president Emmanuel Macron says "moving towards zero enrichment" should be a priority in European talks with Iran in Geneva. CNN's Becky Anderson speaks to French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine about the diplomatic efforts to stop the Israel-Iran conflict.
