Iran eases restrictions, allows calls abroad as death toll spikes
Iran’s nationwide internet shutdown, which activists say may hide the scale of the protest crackdown, has now lasted more than 108 hours, a monitor reports.
Iran eased some restrictions on its people and for the first time in days allowed them to make phone calls abroad via their mobile phones on Tuesday.
It did not ease restrictions on the internet or allow texting services to be restored as the toll from days of bloody protests against the state rose to at least 646 people killed.
Although Iranians were able to call abroad, people outside the country could not call them, several people in the capital Tehran told The Associated Press.
The witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said SMS text messaging still was down and internet users inside Iran could not access anything abroad, although there were local connections to government-approved websites.
It was unclear if restrictions would ease further after authorities cut off all communications inside the country and to the outside world late on Thursday.
Internet shutdown
The nationwide shutdown of the internet by authorities in Iran, which activists fear is aimed at masking the scale of a crackdown on protests, has now lasted over 108 hours, a monitor said on Tuesday.
"It has been 108 hours since Iran introduced a nationwide internet shutdown leaving Iranians isolated from the rest of the world and each other," said Netblocks in a post on X in its latest update.
Israel on alert
The Israeli military said it continues to be “on alert for surprise scenarios” due to the ongoing protests in Iran, but has not made any changes to guidelines for civilians, as it does prior to a concrete threat.
“The protests in Iran are an internal matter,” Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin wrote on X.
Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear programme over the summer, resulting in a 12-day war that killed nearly 1,200 Iranians and almost 30 Israelis.
Over the past week, Iran has threatened to attack Israel if Israel or the US attacks.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on "any and all" countries doing business with Iran.
While Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran if authorities there use lethal force to suppress the protests, he has also expressed willingness to explore the possibility of diplomacy with Tehran.