Monitor Says Iran Without Internet Connectivity For About 4 Days
Washington: Internet monitoring group NetBlocks says Iran has been offline for 100 hours.
This is the second power outage imposed by Iranian authorities this year. The first was for nationwide protests in January.
NetBlocks says measurements show internet connectivity is at 1% of normal levels.
During the previous shutdown in Iran, NetBlocks estimated it cost the country more than $37 million.
Tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz decreased by approximately 90 percent
Shipping tracker MarineTraffic.com reports the sharp trend.
This disruption has a high cost to global oil trade. One fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait.
Major shipping companies have moved their ships away from the region due to security concerns.
More warnings in Israel
Sirens of incoming drones and shells have been going off almost non-stop for the last hour and a half in different areas in northern Israel.
The Israeli military said at least part of the fire came from Lebanon.
For the third time on Wednesday, new sirens are blaring in central Jerusalem, warning of impending fire. A loud explosion was heard. Sirens also sounded in Tel Aviv.
Israel’s rescue services said there were no casualties in the latest bombardment.
US military helps Americans leave Middle East
“We also opened up available space and seats as C-17s and other aircraft arrived to help people get out,” says the Joint Chiefs of Staff, referring to the large C-17 military transport planes.
Dan Caine gave no details about how many Americans were helped. The US State Department has urged citizens to leave more than a dozen countries.
Israel says military coordination with US means thousands of phone calls a day
An Israeli military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military protocol, estimated that 4,000 to 5,000 calls a day are made between Israel and the United States to coordinate across the chain of command.
The official also said that senior US and Israeli commanders began planning the war’s opening strike three weeks ago.
Some areas in Iran now resemble the ruins of Gaza, analyst says
Based on Israel’s stated targets and satellite imagery, Stephane Cohen of the Center for Data Analytics at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies says the campaign is akin to a dentist’s “root canal,” collapsing Iran’s defense infrastructure and preventing a rapid rebuilding.
Targets include missile sites, Revolutionary Guard stations, naval bases and air defense systems.
The volume of ammunition and the extent of visible damage were far greater than last year’s 12-day war, Cohen said. In some places, ash, dust and rubble resemble the attack on Gaza.
Cohen says it’s “everything about the regime.”
