Iranians offline: digital darkness swallows evacuation warnings
A new Israeli evacuation warning in Iran has been swallowed by a “digital darkness” that has covered the country for the past two weeks, making it difficult for those concerned to read such alerts.
On Saturday, the Israeli military ordered residents of an industrial area west of Tabriz in northern Iran to evacuate the area in anticipation of military operations “in the coming hours.”
In a post on the platform X accompanied by a map, the Israeli military wrote: “For your safety and health, we ask you to leave the area immediately.”
However, those targeted by the warning may not be able to read it, as internet access in Iran has been cut off for the past two weeks.
As the U.S.–Israeli war against Iran continues, the nationwide internet shutdown has entered its third week, raising questions about how more than 90 million Iranians are managing their daily lives amid the constant sound of explosions day and night without internet access.
“No damage”
On the same day, the Iranian Fars News Agency reported that the oil infrastructure on Kharg Island, which hosts strategic oil facilities, had not suffered any damage.
This statement followed U.S. airstrikes on Friday targeting military sites that Donald Trump claimed had been “completely destroyed.”
The Iranian agency reported on Saturday, citing unnamed “field sources,” that fifteen explosions were heard during the attack, but that “no oil infrastructure was damaged.”
On Friday evening, Trump said that Iran was “completely defeated and wants to make a deal,” but that he would not agree to it, two weeks after the war in the Middle East began.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “The fake news media hate talking about the great results achieved by the U.S. military against Iran, which has been completely defeated and wants to make a deal, but it will not be a deal that I approve of,” without providing further details.
Trump’s remarks came after he stated that Washington had bombed military targets on Kharg Island, the center of Iran’s oil industry, and that the U.S. Navy would “very soon” begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
While the United States continues its strikes against Iran, Tehran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks against Israel and several Gulf countries.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said this week that talks remain unlikely and that his country’s missile attacks would continue as long as necessary.
Araghchi told PBS News this week: “I do not think talking with the Americans will be on our agenda anymore,” adding that Tehran had gone through “a very bitter experience” during previous negotiations with Washington.
