Overview
- NetBlocks measured international connectivity in Iran at roughly 2% of normal on January 17 with no indication of a broader return to the global internet.
- Residents reported that domestic SMS service resumed and access to the national intranet returned, enabling two-factor banking while foreign services and incoming international texts remained blocked.
- The US-based group HRANA said it has confirmed about 3,090 deaths and other Iranian human-rights organizations reported more than 3,400, figures that cannot be independently verified under the blackout.
- Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly blamed President Donald Trump for fueling the unrest and threatened to crush those he called ‘rioters,’ according to state media.
- International repercussions widened as the Munich Security Conference withdrew invitations to Iranian officials, the EU aviation regulator urged airlines to avoid Iranian airspace, and US forces repositioned assets while Russia signaled willingness to mediate.