Iran's Internet Blackout Now Over 600 Hours

RFE
25 Mar 2026, 11:35 GMT+10

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11:23

Iran's Internet Blackout Now Over 600 Hours

NetBlocks, a web-outage monitor, says that the Internet blackout in Iran has passed the 600-hour mark and has entered its 26th day.

"The measure leaves civilians cut off from international networks, violating their right to access information in times of war," NetBlocks said in a post on X on March 25.

This is Iran's second major blackout in 2026 -- the first one began on January 8 as country-wide protests engulfed the country. Internet traffic is at around 1 percent of normal traffic and isolating the majority of Iran's some 90 million people.

Workarounds such as VPNs or satellite Internet are increasingly restricted and risky for Iranians to use.

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11:02

UN Rights Chief Warns Of Regional And Global Fallout From Iran Conflict

Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has warned that the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran is causing severe civilian suffering across the Middle East.

"Since the start of hostilities, Iran has launched large numbers of drones and missiles against military bases, residential areas and energy facilities across these Gulf States and Jordan. Strikes and interceptions have caused terrible harm to civilians, including dozens of deaths and injuries," Turk said in astatementto the Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 25.

"Many of the strikes in this conflict raise serious concerns under international law, which prohibits attacks targeting civilians and their infrastructure, and attacks on military targets where harm to civilians is disproportionate," the statement added.

Inside Iran, civilians are seeking shelter from air strikes across all 31 provinces of the country, Turk said, adding that according to Iranian government figures, some 1,400 civilians have been killed and more than 20,000 injured. Human rights groups have made similar estimates. "As Iranians shelter from these strikes, they also face another wave of cruel state repression, including arbitrary arrests, executions, intimidation and censorship," he noted.

Turk highlighted the disruption by Iran of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which is threatening global supplies of food, medicine, and energy, with dire implications for some of the worlds poorest people.

He urged all states to take immediate action to end hostilities, stating, "The only guaranteed way to prevent this is to end the conflict, and I urge all States, and particularly those with influence, to do everything in their power to achieve this."

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08:39

IAEA Says Iran Reported Hit At Bushehr Nuclear Plant But No Damage Occurred

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)saidlate on March 24 that it had been informed by Iran that another projectile hit the premises of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant early the day. The IAEA reported that "according to Iran, there was no damage to the NPP itself nor injuries to staff, and the condition of the plant is normal."

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08:38

Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with Kuwait's Armed Forcesannouncingon March 25 that the country's air defense systems responded to incoming missile and drone threats. In a statement posted on X, the Army noted that explosions heard were the result of intercepting hostile targets. Separately, the country's civil aviation authority reported that drones thought to be launched by Iran had struck a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, causing a fire. There have been noreportsof casualties.

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00:12

We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.

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23:30

24.3.2026

Iran: 'Non-Hostile Vessels' Can Now Transit Strait Of Hormuz

Iran has said "non-hostile vessels" can transit the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement released to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

"Non-hostile vessels... may -- provided that they neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran -- and fully comply with the declared safety and security regulations -- benefit from safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with the competent authorities," the statement said.

The IMO said the communique, dated Sunday, March 22, was issued by Iran's Foreign Ministry with the request that it be circulated by the IMO. The IMO says it had shared it with member states and NGOs.

The announcement comes amid US claims that Iran is eager to reach an agreement on how to end the daily US and Israeli airstrikes, to which Iran responded by obstructing the passage of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz and thus disrupting oil and gas export from the Middle East to world markets, which has brought global energy prices up.

Iran also pointed out that the announcement does not apply to ships and equipment belonging to the United States and Israel, as well as other "participants in the aggression."

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22:59

24.3.2026

Reports: US Has Sent Iran A 15-Point Plan To End War

US and Israeli media outlets are reporting that the United States has sent Iran a 15-point plan to resolve the conflict in the Middle East, now in its fifth week since the US and Israel launched air strikes against Iran on February 28.

Citing two unnamed officials it said had been briefed on the diplomacy, The New York Times reported on March 24 that the plan had been delivered via Pakistan. The papersaidit was unclear how widely the planhad been shared among Iranian officials or whether Israel was on board.

Israel's Channel 12, which cited three sources, said the US was seeking a month-long cease-fire to discuss the plan, which it said included keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, dismantling Iran's nuclear program, ending its backing of proxy groups, and the removal of all sanctions on Tehran, among other things.

US President Donald Trump said on March 24 that the United States is "talking to the right people in Iran" about a deal to end the war and that were in negotiations right now, but did not provide details. Senior Iranian figures said a day earlier that Iran was not in negotiations with the US.

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20:37

24.3.2026

Pentagon Orders 3,000 Troops From 82nd Airborne To Middle East

The Pentagon is reportedly preparing to send about 3,000 soldiers from the US Armys 82nd Airborne Division, including elements of its Immediate Response Force, to the Middle East.

According to reports by The Wall Street Journal and Fox News, a written deployment order is expected soon. Major Geneneral Brandon Tegtmeier, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, and his headquarters staff have already been ordered to deploy.

The divisions elite paratroopers can deploy rapidly worldwide, often within 1824 hours. Troops could begin moving within hours or days, although there has been no official confirmation of their departure.

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20:17

24.3.2026

Trump Says US 'Talking To The Right People' In Iran

President Donald Trump said the United States is talking to the right people in Iran as the US-Israeli war with Iran continues, reiterating that contacts are taking place despite Tehrans denials.

"We're actually talking to the right people and they want to make a deal so badly, you have no idea how badly they want to make a deal," Trump said in remarks at the White House on March 24.

For the second time in two days, he said Iran had agreed it would never have nuclear weapons.

Trump did not name or otherwise identify anyone the United States is negotiating with. He said were dealing with a new group of people after killing the longtime supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and numerous other senior Iranian figures.

He said this group had given the US a very big present" that had "arrived today" and was related to oil and gas. He did not say what it was.

While Iran continues to launch attacks on Israel, Persian Gulf countries, and US assets in the region, and is effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for oil and gas shipments, Trump said that this war has been won and that Iran is totally defeated.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on March 23 that the United States and Iran had held "very good and productive" conversations about a "complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East."

Irans parliament speaker and other denied negotiations with the US had been held, but US media reports suggested that there has been at least initial contact between the sides through intermediaries.

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20:12

24.3.2026

Concerns About Fate Of Baha'i Believer Imprisoned In Iran

Peyvand Naimi

The Baha'i International Community says that Peyvan Naimi, a young Baha'i believer imprisoned in Kerman, a city in southern Iran, is facing "death threats" after enduring "two mock executions."

According to the group, which represents members of the worldwide Baha'i faith, the man has been subjected to "torture" and "interrogation" for a "long period of time," and the Iranian authorities are "trying to force him to confess to a crime he did not commit."

Naimi was arrested on January 8 on charges of "inciting" the protests that spread throughout the country -- a charge that the Baha'i International Community has called "false."

According to the group, after being arrested, Naimi was transferred to a "detention center under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps" in Kerman, which is "notorious for torture and mistreatment of prisoners."

Naimi was transferred to a prison in Kerman after the broadcast of his "forced confession" on Iranian state TV, the group said, and, "to this day, no trial has been held for him, no verdict has been issued, and no evidence has been presented to justify the false accusations against him."

The Iranian authorities have persecuted the Baha'i community-- the countrys largest non-Muslim religious minority -- for decades through arbitrary arrests, long prison sentences, bans from higher education and public-sector jobs, property confiscations, and other forms of discrimination.

Naimi has reportedly been accused of participating in the "death" of three paramilitary Basij officers during the January protests, "even though he was in detention at the time of the alleged attack." He was also "falsely accused of celebrating the death of Ali Khamenei, the former leader of the Islamic Republic, news of which he was unaware as a prisoner without access to communications."

According to the Baha'i International Community, Naimi's family says the young man was subjected to constant and severe torture and interrogation and deprived of food and water for 10 days last week. His hands and feet were tied for 48 hours, tied to a wall, and repeatedly beaten."

Human rights groups have repeatedly documented Iran's use of torture, interrogation, and mock executions to extract false confessions.