Iran Says Internet Access Is Civil Right but Blackout Will Persist Until War Ends

Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said the government recognizes internet access as a civil right. She stated that internet access will return to normal in Iran once the war with the United States and Israel ends. Mohajerani added that the government’s approach is equitable access to all infrastructure including the internet and that the president holds the same view.

Millions of people in Iran have experienced a near-total internet blackout for 74 days since the war started on February 28, with only government-approved sites accessible. Mohajerani said the pro-internet policy aims to provide businesses with access to high-quality internet and that this will return to normal after conditions normalize.

She said Iran is keeping its fingers on the trigger but the focus remains on sustainable peace and interests-based diplomacy.

“We fought the world’s greatest military power for 40 days, and we are still holding the trigger and waiting for a negotiated settlement,” Mohajerani said. She added that Iran’s main focus is on lasting peace and pursues diplomatic issues with the three principles of honour, wisdom and expediency.

A Syrian man was killed and his wife was wounded in an Israeli air strike targeting a motorcycle in the Hamadieh area of Tyre, southern Lebanon.

An Israeli drone dropped a bomb on a pick-up truck in the town of Mansouri in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district, resulting in injuries. At least six people were killed and seven wounded by Israeli warplanes in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon. An Israeli drone attack on a vehicle in the town square of Doueir, southern Lebanon, killed three people: Ali Yassin, Abbas Hayek, and Youssef Khreibani.

Israel has bombed the town of Jebchit in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh region in four consecutive air raids followed by artillery shelling. The Israeli army hit an area surrounding the mosque in Jebchit. 6 million people.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed nearly 3,000 people and displaced more than one million since the war with Hezbollah escalated on March 2. A ceasefire in Lebanon was announced on April 17 and extended until May 17, yet the Israeli army continues daily strikes on Lebanon and widespread demolition of homes in dozens of villages in the south.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said the group’s weapons arsenal is not part of negotiations with Israel and is an internal matter for Lebanon.

“We will not abandon the field. We will turn it into hell for Israel,” Qassem said. He said Hezbollah will cooperate with the Lebanese government to achieve five points: Lebanese sovereignty through cessation of Israeli aggression, withdrawal of Israeli army from occupied territories, release of prisoners, return of people to southern Lebanon, and reconstruction.

“No one outside Lebanon has any say in the weapons, the resistance or the organisation of Lebanon’s internal affairs,” Qassem said. The UAE’s Habshan gas-processing complex will not reach full production capacity again until 2027. The Habshan site is currently operating at 60 percent capacity and aims for 80 percent restoration by the end of 2026.

1 billion in net income for the first quarter, a 15 percent decrease compared with the same quarter last year. The drop in ADNOC Gas net income was caused by increased regional uncertainty and difficult market conditions due to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Habshan complex has been targeted several times during the war with production halted on at least three occasions after falling debris from interceptions caused fires.

Iran has targeted the UAE more than any other country during the war, launching drone and missile attacks at US assets and civilian infrastructure including airports and energy facilities. The Revolutionary Guard’s navy says the Strait of Hormuz has expanded into a strategic zone extending from the coasts of Jask to Sirri Island.

The operational zone of the Strait of Hormuz has expanded from a range of 32-48 km to 320-480 km from Jask and Sirri to beyond Qeshm Island and Greater Tunb, forming a complete arc.

Mohammad Akbarzadeh, political deputy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy, made the comments. Pakistan plans to increase oil imports from Russia during the Strait of Hormuz crisis. Pakistan’s ambassador to Russia is Faisal Niaz Tirmizi.

In April, Russia’s energy export revenue jumped 4 percent from the previous month to 733 million euros ($861 million) a day, the highest in two and a half years. US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said Israel sent Iron Dome missile defence batteries and Israeli troops to the UAE to help defend against Iranian attacks.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed that Israel sent Iron Dome batteries and personnel to the UAE.

Huckabee said he is very optimistic that additional countries in the Middle East will soon join the Abraham Accords. Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man on Monday during a raid on Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. According to the United Nations, at least 44 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank in 2026 so far, including 13 by settlers.

More than 760 settler attacks have been documented in the occupied West Bank in 2026, averaging six per day. Some 2,000 Palestinians, nearly 900 of them children, have been displaced in 2026 by settler violence and access restrictions in the West Bank. Israeli forces arrested seven people from the Nablus governorate in the occupied West Bank at dawn.

Israeli forces stormed Nablus city and arrested three people in the al-Dahiya area east of the city. Israeli forces raided several other villages and towns in Nablus governorate and arrested four people. The Israel National Cyber Directorate said intimidation messages have been sent to Israeli citizens’ phones over the last few hours intended to create panic.

Israel is establishing a military factory to produce a fleet of suicide drones in response to Hezbollah’s explosive drones. Hezbollah’s fibreoptic drones are immune to electronic jamming and invisible to radar. 79 as of 07:03 GMT.

London’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX were each down more than 1 percent.