Iran: Internet Disruption Coincides with "Water Revolution"

Under the title "Iran: Internet Disruption Coincides with Water Revolution," Sky News reported that mobile internet service in Iran has been disrupted following protests in the southwest of the country due to water shortages, according to a monitoring group on Thursday. The unrest, sparked by drought affecting Iranian cities, has resulted in the deaths of at least three individuals. The internet access advocacy group "NetBlocks" attributed part of the outage to "state-imposed information controls or targeted internet shutdowns," noting that the interruptions began on July 15 when protests erupted in Khuzestan, an oil-rich region adjacent to Iraq. While landline services continued to operate, "NetBlocks" cautioned that its analysis and user reports "were consistent with a regional internet shutdown aimed at controlling the protests." The group stated that the impacts represent "a near-total internet blackout, likely limiting the public's ability to express political dissent or communicate with each other and the outside world." There was no acknowledgment of the internet shutdown in Iranian state media, and Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Activist groups abroad have also noted internet disruptions in the region in recent days. Since the disputed 2009 presidential elections and the Green Movement protests, Tehran has intensified its control over the internet, shutting down several social media platforms. Iranian authorities fully shut down the internet across the country in November 2019 during protests over gasoline prices.