March 28, 2026 | 09:36 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - On Thursday evening, the Iranian capital Tehran came under a fierce wave of attacks. Residents reported low-flying fighter jets over the city and massive explosions. Early on Friday morning, the Israeli military said that it had completed a wide-scale wave of strikes on the "heart of Tehran" and had targeted "infrastructure belonging to the Iranian regime."
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump had once again postponed his threats to attack Iran's energy facilities if Tehran refused to lift its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. has deployed thousands of troops to the Middle East. A ground invasion of Iran has not been ruled out.
Iranians have no faith in state media
On Thursday, Iran had claimed that it had launched missile and drone attacks on targets in Israel as well as U.S. bases in several Gulf states. Iranian state television reported that the country was on the verge of defeating its enemies and ending the war.
"We don't watch state television anymore, and I hardly know anyone who still does," wrote one resident of Tehran in a group chat. "They only broadcast for themselves and their supporters," wrote another.
Iran's state broadcaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), has long lost its influence over public opinion in the country. According to a survey by the Iranian Students Polling Agency in Tehran, even before the Twelve-Day War between Iran and Israel in June 2025, only 12.5 percent of people relied on IRIB for their news, compared to 51 percent in 2017.
Despite a budget increase of about 50 percent in March 2025, the public broadcaster has not been able to regain the trust it has lost.
Internet blocked, Starlink banned
Many Iranians get their news from Persian-language media outlets abroad, from other state broadcasters such as DW, or through social media, particularly Instagram, which has some 24 million users in Iran. Although such platforms are officially banned, many people use virtual private network (VPN) services to access them. A VPN establishes an encrypted data tunnel between a device and a remote server, from which users can connect to the internet.
Since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began on February 28, the Iranian authorities have once again shut down the internet. Even VPN connections can only function with the help of satellite internet providers such as Starlink, which is also banned in Iran. Moreover, they are often very expensive to use and can cost up to 10 times the regular price. According to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, hundreds of Starlink systems have been tracked and confiscated across the country.
Internet expert Keyvan Samadi told DW how the security authorities were able to track the systems. He said that Starlink devices transmitted signals in order to connect with satellites. Specialized equipment could detect the signals and radio could be used to locate them approximately. According to media reports, hundreds of people have been arrested that way since the beginning of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
It is hard to tell how many banned systems are still in use in Iran. People still in the country told DW that VPN services remained available but at very high prices. Though many people faced financial difficulties because of the ongoing war and closed businesses, many were willing to spend more money to have access to information.
Many said that on top of the drone and missile attacks, the internet blackouts were an added source of psychological stress because people had lost contact with relatives. They said that the uncertainty of what was happening was almost unbearable.
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