Back Online After Internet Blackout Ends, Iranians Still Face Limited Communications
Internet access in Iran has been partially restored after the government shut down communications at the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign in late February. Iranians told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that they had been unable to check on their loved ones' safety during months of deadly air strikes. Even as the total blackout ended on May 27, Iranians inside and outside the country described slow connections and difficulty reaching friends and family.
Video by Kian Sharifi, RFE/RL's Radio Farda, and Margot Buff
Rights Activist Nasrin Sotoudeh Says She Was Beaten In Intelligence Ministry Detention Center
Lawyer and human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh says that she was arrested by Iranian Intelligence Ministry agents on April 1 and beaten while being held in one of the ministry’s detention centers.
She wrote in a Facebook post on May 28 that when she arrived at the detention facility, agents tied her hands and feet and beat her “over the compulsory hijab,” or mandatory Islamic head scarf. She said the beating left bruises on her legs and wounds on her face.
Sotoudeh also described conditions in the detention center as “inhumane,” saying "forced confessions were rampant" and that the release of some detainees was conditioned on recording video confessions.
She added that she was temporarily released on May 13 after a new case was opened against her.
At the end of her message, referring to domestic and international support for political prisoners in Iran, Sotoudeh wrote: “No to war, no to dictatorship.”
Sotoudeh is one of Iran’s best-known human rights lawyers and has been repeatedly jailed over her defense of political prisoners, women’s rights activists, and opponents of compulsory hijab laws.
Number Of Iranians Living Below Poverty Line This Year May Reach 40 Million, Say Economists
Several Iranian economists and university professors warned during a specialist conference that the country’s economy could shrink by as much as 10 percent following the recent war, predicting that around 4.5 million more people could fall into poverty this year.
The Donya-e Eqtesad economic daily reported on May 28 that four economists and researchers in economics and social policy painted a “worrying” picture for Iran’s economic outlook.
Hojat Mirzai, a faculty member at Allameh Tabatabai University’s economics department, said that because of the US naval blockade and the collapse of Iran’s oil exports to almost zero, economic growth in the country of some 90 million people is "forecast to be between minus 8.8 and minus 10 percent" in the coming year.
He added that “between 3.5 and 4.5 million more people” could fall below the poverty line this year, bringing the total number of people living below it in Iran to more than 40 million.
The warnings come amid soaring inflation, rising consumer prices, and sharp declines in Iranian government revenues following weeks of a US naval blockade and collapsing oil exports.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Bessent Signals Pressure On Iranian Airlines
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that Washington would tighten pressure on Iran by targeting the country’s airlines as part of efforts to force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on X on May 28, Bessent said the United States would “be shutting down both Iranian airlines' access to landing spots, refueling, and ticket sales,” though he did not specify which carriers would be affected.
The country's flag carrier Iran Air has previously been designated by the US State Department while Iran's Mahan Air has also been sanctioned
Bessent warned that “only a satisfactory outcome in negotiations will end the downward spiral.”
The announcement came a day after Washington sanctioned Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which regulates transit through the strategic waterway.
Iran tightened control over the strait after US-Israeli strikes on February 28 triggered a regional war.
Despite a cease-fire in place since April 8, US and Iranian forces exchanged strikes again on May 28.
An X post from CENTCOM, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East.
Iranian Supreme Leader Warns Of 'Divisions And Disintegration'
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has claimed that the United States and Israel were seeking to destabilize the Islamic republic through war, economic pressure, and social divisions.
In a written message published by Iranian media and read on state television on May 28, Khamenei said the "enemy’s blind plan” was to create “divisions and disintegration” in Iran following months of conflict and sanctions pressure.
He called on Iranians to preserve “unity” and avoid turning disagreements into “conflict and division.”
The statement came a day after Iran’s Intelligence Ministry warned that economic hardship, shortages, and rising prices caused by US pressure could trigger fresh unrest.
The Wall Street Journal also reported on May 28 that analysts feared the continuing US naval blockade and falling foreign currency reserves could increase the likelihood of renewed protests in Iran.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, succeeded his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in the opening US-Israeli strikes on Iran. He has not appeared in public since.
With reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda and Agence France-Presse.
Iran-US Talks 'A Dangerous Game,' Says Ex-Pentagon Official Michael Patrick Mulroy
WASHINGTON -- As Washington and Tehran weigh diplomacy against the risk of renewed conflict, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Michael Patrick Mulroy, says both sides now have strong incentives to prevent the crisis from escalating again if they are prepared to compromise.
In an interview with RFE/RL, Mulroy, who served under the first administration of President Donald Trump, said there is “hope” for an agreement because both Washington and Tehran “have an interest in seeing this come to an end,” while cautioning that negotiations could still collapse if either side overplays their hand.
RFE/RL: President Trump said during the cabinet meeting that Iran “very much wants to make a deal,” but also warned that “maybe we’ll just have to finish the job.” He ruled out sanctions relief in exchange for uranium concessions. From your perspective, how close are we to either a diplomatic breakthrough or direct military escalation?
Michael Patrick Mulroy: I think we are closer than we have been. I know a lot of people have seen the comments that keep coming out that we're on the verge, and we never get there, so they're very skeptical -- and I think that's fair.
But it's clear to me that President Trump does not want this to go into a stalemate that just continues
and continues. Although I think he is willing to use military escalation, he understands that would come with significant consequences.
Iran, of course, is not just going to absorb another round of air strikes. They're going to launch a counterattack. Obviously, it would be against US forces, but also against Gulf countries, as they have already proven both their willingness and capability to do.
That would further exacerbate the very issue Iran believes gives it leverage -- dramatically increasing the cost of energy around the world, including in the US, at a time when the US is heading into midterm elections.
At the same time, the [US] blockade and naval pressure have put serious strain on the regime’s ability to fund itself. So both sides have an interest in seeing this come to an end. I think there is hope. But the question is whether both sides are willing to compromise, because that’s how negotiations work.
Read more here
Iran Tightens Restrictions On Foreign Media, Says AP
Iran has tightened restrictions on international media operating in the country, ordering foreign news organizations to bar Israeli outlets and Persian-language broadcasters abroad from using their content, according to instructions seen by The Associated Press.
The directive, issued by Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, requires international media organizations in Tehran to include mandatory language on “all submitted content, including photos, videos, reports, and other media productions,” AP reported on May 27. The outlets in question are now supposed to say that the relevant content cannot be used by Israeli media or Persian-language TV stations based outside Iran.
The ministry warned that responsibility for noncompliance would rest with the news outlet involved.
Only a limited number of international news organizations, including AP, continue to maintain bureaus or correspondents in Iran under tight state restrictions.
Iran has long restricted cooperation with Persian-language outlets such as VOA Persian, Iran International, and BBC Persian. Despite the controls, many overseas broadcasters continue accessing Iranian state media material online.
A spokesman for AP said its journalists in Iran would continue producing “strong, independent journalism under challenging conditions.”
Iran Internet Access Restored But Still Heavily Filtered, Says Monitor
The NetBlocks Internet monitoring group said on May 28 that connectivity in Iran had "largely returned" three months after Tehran “shut off access to the global internet.”
However, the group said network data showed users still faced “heavy filtering,” similar to restrictions imposed during a deadly crackdown on protests that erupted in January before the start of the war on February 28.
Read more here
US Sanctions Iranian Authority Claiming To Regulate Strait Of Hormuz
The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran’s so-called Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the body Tehran created to regulate passage through the Strait of Hormuz, escalating pressure over Iran’s tightening control of one of the world’s most critical energy routes.
The authority was established after Iran closed the strait following the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel on February 28. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies usually pass through the narrow waterway, and Iran’s restrictions on shipping have disrupted global energy markets.
The US Treasury warned on May 27 that anyone cooperating with the authority or paying transit fees “may be providing support to and receiving services from” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and could face sanctions.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “the Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury” -- the US administration’s sanctions campaign targeting Iran’s economy and oil revenues -- “has left the regime desperate for cash.”
Iran claims it is charging ships for “navigational services,” not imposing tolls.
On May 20, the authority published a map asserting Tehran’s “regulatory jurisdiction” over broad sections of the strategic waterway.