Iranian Academic Tells Of Waiting In Line To Use Internet

RFE
03 May 2026, 07:30 GMT+10

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16:54

Iranian Academic Tells Of Waiting In Line To Use Internet

A report by a semi-official Iranian news agency sheds an intriguing light on Internet usage in the country.

On day 65 of a nationwide Internet blackout, Alireza Esthamaty, the dean of the medical faculty at Tehran University, told ISNA news agency that professors are forced to take turns using the Internet, and wait in line to use the facilities.

Irans current Internet blackout began after US and Israeli air strikes on February 28 and, given Iran's population is over 90 million people, it is arguably the largest government-directed communications outage in recorded history.

Internet-monitoring watchdog NetBlocks described it as "unsurpassed in scale and severity in a connected society." It has severely limited the flow of information to and from Iran.

The Iranian authorities also turned off the Internet as a means of suppressing mass nationwide protests in January. While security forces killed thousands of people, opposition activists were unable to get online and organize.

The authorities now appear to be using the current blackout to create a more pliant web only available to those loyal to the clerical establishment.

Rather than a total blackout, authorities have maintained an elaborate whitelisting system of selectively granting connectivity to favored institutions, companies, and individuals while leaving the rest of the population cut off.

Academics are among those benefitting from the new regime, dubbed Internet Pro. But Esthamaty was quoted as saying that even this is a far from satisfactory service.

Internet access is available in several places at the university, but outside the university, especially at night when many academic activities and preparation for lectures and classes are taking place, Internet access is disrupted," he said.

In addition to this, Esthamaty said access to laptops was restricted, adding that Internet Pro "does not meet academic needs."

Amnesty International has criticized Iranian authorities for imposing what it calls "digital darkness," describing access to the Internet as "a basic human right and indispensable in times of conflict."

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14:36

At Least One Killed, Others Reportedly Injured By Israeli Forces In Lebanon

At least one person has been killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Lebanon, in the latest armed incident during a shaky cease-fire there between the IDF and Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

The IDF-Hezbollah conflict threatens to disrupt the cease-fire between Washington and Tehran, with Iran repeatedly insisting that it needs to be resolved within negotiations on ending its conflict with the United States.

Hezbollah is both a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union has only blacklisted its armed wing.

Lebanons state-run National News Agency cited the countrys Health Ministry as saying that "the Israeli enemy's raid on the town of Arab Salim in the Nabatieh district resulted in one martyr and three wounded, including a child.

An online statement by the IDF said two armed Hezbollah terrorists were eliminated after posing an imminent threat. It added that further terrorists were killed in a subsequent strike.

It was not clear if the IDF was referring to the same incident, and there was no immediate independent confirmation about what happened.

Earlier on May 3, the IDF issued a warning to residents of some areas of southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes and move at least a kilometer away due to what it said were ongoing operations against Hezbollah.

The previous day, the Israeli military said it had struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

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13:24

OPEC+ Announces Increased Oil Output After Price Spike

Seven of the worlds biggest oil producers have announced that they will increase their output to support oil market stability, days after a dramatic oil price spike amid market fears that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will not resume anytime soon.

Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman took the decision at a virtual meeting on May 3 to raise output by 188,000 barrels per day in June.

The move came after oil prices reached their highest level since Russias full-scale invasion in 2022, reaching $126 per barrel on April 29 following a report in The Wall Street Journal that US President Donald Trump had told aides to prepare for an "extended" blockade of Iranian ports. The price has since slipped back slightly.

The countries will continue to closely monitor and assess market conditions, and in their continuous efforts to support market stability, a statement by OPEC+ said. However, while the move may provide some relief, it does not change the underlying causes of the current price levels.

The US blockade is preventing Iran shipping oil to China, adding to price pressures caused by Irans blockade that has stopped other Persian Gulf countries sending oil supplies to customers around the world. Washingtons blockade began on April 13, following failed US-Iranian talks in Islamabad.

Tehran launched its blockade after US-Israeli air strikes on Iran started the war on February 28.

Prior to the war, some 20 percent of global oil supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that ongoing Ukrainian attacks on the Russian oil industry was also adding to price pressures.

If additional volumes of our oil are dropped from the market, prices will rise further from current levels, which are already above $120 a barrel. That would mean that even with lower export volumes, our companies would earn more money, and the state would receive more revenue, Peskov said.

Ukrainian drone strikes have reached as far as 1,500 kilometers inside Russia in recent days.

It is important that every strike reduces the capabilities of Russias military industry, logistics, and oil exports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media on April 29.

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12:14

Controversial Clip Emerges Of Iranian Women On Beach Without Hijab

After the appearance of a video of young men and women on an Iranian beach, a local prosecutor has said that the video is generated by AI and promised action.

The 15-second video emerged on May 2 and shows men and women, who are not wearing government-mandated hijabs, on a beach in Iran's Kish Island. The Persian Gulf island is known for its duty-free shopping, luxury resorts, and a more relaxed attitude when compared to the Iranian mainland.

On Iranian beaches, women must follow strict modesty rules, typically wearing full-body swimsuits, while men face fewer restrictions and are generally allowed to wear standard swimsuits. Some beaches in Iran are gender segregated.

According to the Jamaran, a news and information website, the Kish prosecutor said that "after technical investigations, it was determined that the published clip is a combination of an original clip and artificial intelligence."

How Is The World Coping With The Closure Of The Strait Of Hormuz?

It has been over two months since one of the worlds key oil chokepoints was shut down. And it has meant a seismic global readjustment and a number of creative workarounds. Watch our explainer with Kian Sharifi.