Iranian state media reported that top Iranian officials and their security teams have been advised to avoid any IT equipment connected to telecom networks.
The ban includes smartwatches, mobile phones, and laptops and appeared to be prompted by a fear of an Israeli strike aimed at the officials’ digital signatures.
Israel has reportedly launched a “massive cyber war” against Iran’s digital infrastructure during their conflict, though Iran’s cybersecurity command says it has repelled such attacks.
Iran restricted its citizens’ internet access after Israel’s initial strike on the country killed several top military commanders and nuclear scientists while also damaging nuclear sites. Iranian internet usage surged a few days after the initial attack, with periodic drops, but saw a decline again on Tuesday.
Confirmed: Analysis of telemetry shows a significant reduction in internet traffic in #Iran; the incident comes amid an escalating conflict with Israel and is likely to limit the public's ability to access information at a critical time
pic.twitter.com/WOqfHTdxc0
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) June 17, 2025
Iranian officials said the restrictions were placed because of the “special conditions” surrounding the country.
“We inform the honourable people of Iran that, in view of the country’s special conditions and with the measures of the competent authorities, temporary restrictions have been imposed on the country’s internet,” a message from the country’s Ministry of Information and Communications said.
Former Trump adviser Elon Musk said last week that he would provide free Starlink to the country’s citizens, saying, “The beams are on.” Starlink does not say it is available in Iran on its website but color-codes the country under its “coming soon” tab with no additional details. Starlink terminals are also illegal to bring into the country, relatively expensive, and could bring legal scrutiny to anyone using them.
Iranians have been advised to delete the messaging app WhatsApp from their cellphones, and landline telephones reportedly can no longer receive or dial international calls.
The safety of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been debated. Israel floated a plan to kill him last week, but President Donald Trump opposed it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t outright deny the report when asked.
“There’s so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I’m not going to get into that,” he said. “But I can tell you I think we do what we need to do. We will do what we need to do, and I think the United States knows what is good for the United States, and I’m just not going to get into it.”
MUSK SAYS HE IS PROVIDING IRANIAN CITIZENS WITH STARLINK AS REGIME RESTRICTS INTERNET
On Tuesday, Trump appeared to harden his tone toward Khamenei, saying the United States would not take him out, “at least for now.”
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” he wrote in a Truth Social post. “He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.”
