6m ago
Iran’s record-setting internet blackout reaches 50th day, monitor says
The monitoring organization NetBlocks said that the internet blackout imposed by Iranian authorities at the start of the war in the Middle East has entered an “unprecedented” 50th day.
“Metrics show the measure, unprecedented for a connected society, continues to the detriment of most Iranians’ livelihoods and human rights,” NetBlocks said on X. The monitor said the outage has lasted 1,176 hours.
The blackout was already the longest nationwide shutdown on record as of April 5, according to NetBlocks.
Iran’s extremely restricted local intranet has been working throughout the war, enabling people to connect to domestic websites. To connect to the global web for news or to banned social media networks such as Instagram, some resort to virtual private networks (VPNs) to disguise their IP addresses in rare moments when network bandwidth is available. Far more limited numbers of people have access to Starlink or other satellite-based internet providers, which are also banned.
Iranians suspected of using VPNs since the war began have received text messages warning them of arrest or imprisonment.
45m ago
Trump says conversations with Iran are “going very well”
President Trump said the U.S. is having “very good conversations” with Iranian leaders during a news conference in the Oval Office on Saturday morning.
“It’s going very well,” Mr. Trump said. He offered no specifics, but added the U.S. is “taking a tough stand” in conversations with Iran.
“We’re talking to them. They wanted to close up the strait again, as they’ve been doing for years, and they can’t blackmail us,” Mr. Trump said. He did not mention Iranian claims that the Strait of Hormuz was closed again Saturday or address reports of strikes on ships in the vital waterway.
Mr. Trump repeated his claims that Iran has no navy, air force or leadership. He said the country has undergone “enforced regime change” after strikes targeting leaders.
54m ago
More ships appear to come under fire in Strait of Hormuz
Two more incidents involving apparent attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have been reported, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre.
The first report involved a container ship 25 nautical miles northeast from Oman, which was struck by an unknown projectile, according to the UKMTO. The unnamed vessel reported damage to some of the containers, but no fire or environmental impact.
About 45 minutes later, the master of an unnamed cruise ship 3 nautical miles east of Oman reported “sighting a splash in close proximity of the vessel,” according to the UKMTO.
8:24 AM
French soldier from U.N. force dies in attack in Lebanon
A French member of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, was killed during an attack on Saturday in the southern part of the country, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.