Newsnation – Iran partially back online, reveals dire straits in country
The regime-controlled internet in Iran has been partially restored, according to reports.
The cybersecurity group NetBlocks reported on Tuesday the war-embattled nation has “a partial restoration to internet connectivity in Iran on day 88, after 2,093 hours of near-total isolation from international networks, the longest nationwide internet shutdown in modern history. It is unclear if the restoration will be sustained.
The monthslong internet shutdown has made it virtually impossible for the outside world to know what is happening to Iranian citizens.
An Iranian refugee, who spoke to NewsNation under the condition of anonymity for safety, confirmed some people are able to access the internet and have since been able to communicate directly with Iranians in the country.
They said the situation for citizens in Iran has become more dire as the conflict with the United States and Israel continues.
“More and more people are being hastily sentenced to execution. People are barely surviving. Those with rare diseases, special medical conditions or illnesses, such as cancer, are among the first to pay the ultimate price with their lives.”
Iranians selling their homes to pay for food: Refugee
There is a hefty financial toll on Iranian citizens, according to the refugee.
“Many food items, such as chicken and red meat, they cannot afford. People are selling their cars, homes and properties to survive,” they explained.
The refugee said the regime’s monthslong internet shutdown has caused Iranian children to be left without access to a “proper education.”
“The school year is almost over, and due to the internet blackout, the national internet network, children are being left without proper education,” the refugee stated.
Illegal VPNs help some Iranians get online
The refugee shared in April an illegal VPN black market is allowing some users online if they can afford it and stated on Tuesday that illegal VPNs are still being utilized.
They said individuals with the financial means are able to purchase costly virtual private networks through an underground system.
VPNs were outlawed in 2024 by the regime’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace under then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to maintain its grip on communications within and outside the country.
Nuclear deal won‘t improve situation for Iranians: retired Central Command officer
Retired Lt. Col. Mike Nelson, who has extensive experience with U.S. Central Command, told NewsNation, that he anticipates executions of Iranians to not only continue but worsen after a deal is reached to end the war.
“Not only do I expect these executions to continue while the crisis is ongoing. … After any kind of deal or resolution or settlement with the United States, they’ll (regime) probably have no incentive whatsoever to hinder or slow down the executions and the punishments of the people that they feel were leading the uprising or that represent threats to the regime,” Nelson said.
Nelson added he believes any agreement would not include protections for Iranians, meaning executions, “will probably ramp up.”
NewsNation informed the White House about the partial internet restoration in Iran, and the concerns that a nuclear deal agreement between the U.S. and Iran would not help the Iranian people from the brutality of the regime.
A White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, issued a written statement to NewsNation, “For 47 years, American Presidents and countless other world leaders talked about the threat posed by Iran, but no one had the courage to address it. President Trump took decisive action to ensure that Iran could never harm our homeland, our troops, or our allies again. Once Iran’s nuclear threat is removed for good, the entire region and its people will be safer and more stable.”
Iran wants to speed up executions as US deal remains elusive
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, Iran’s judiciary chief, who was appointed by former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2021, has asked for hastening the process of executions, NewsNation reported in April.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and the objective is to reach an agreement where a nuclear deal is in place.
On Saturday, Trump wrote on Truth Social in part, “An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries, as listed.”
Iranian refugee and the founding leader of the Conservative Party of Iran Rayan Amiri said a nuclear deal would not help Iranians from the brutal terror tactics of the regime.
“A nuclear deal may temporarily serve some shortsighted agenda in the west and prolong the dying regime’s eventual end, but it does not stop executions, arrests, terrorism, torture or crackdowns against the Iranian people,” Amiri said.
Amiri said the regime has regularly used international agreements and financial relief to, “strengthen its security apparatus and intensify domestic repression rather than improve the lives or freedoms of ordinary Iranians.”
Iranian executions have ‘increased’ with war: Report
The Human Rights Activists News Agency reported this month, “Executions of prisoners on political and security-related charges have increased alongside the outbreak of military conflict in Iran.”
NewsNation reported earlier this month father Mohammad Abbasi, who was being held at the Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, was executed. He was arrested during the January protests, according to the U.S.-based human rights group the Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Fatemeh Abbasi, Abbasi’s daughter, was sentenced to a 25-year prison sentence and is being held at Evin Prison in Tehran.
Additionally, NewsNation reported this month an Iranian aerospace engineering master’s student has been executed by hanging by the IRGC, according to human rights groups, on charges of “espionage.”
Erfan Shakourzadeh, 29, was videotaped by the regime under distress and allegedly gave a forced confession to working with the CIA and Mossad agents. He was arrested two years ago and held in prison until his execution in Ghezel-Hesar Prison near Karaj.
The sources who spoke with NewsNation say the number of deaths during the January protests is closer to 30,000, but an exact number is difficult to reach. Iranian sources told NewsNation in February that many protesters who have been captured by the regime’s police forces are being savagely tortured and raped in prison before being executed.