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Iran shuts down internet as petrol riots crackdown escalates
Iran
IrANIAN authorities turned the internet off on November 17, as a crackdown on protests against a dramatic hike in petrol prices escalates, reports Netblocks, an internet-freedom charity.
“Confirmed: #Iran is now in the midst of a near-total national internet shutdown; real- time network data show connectivity at 7% of ordinary levels after twelve hours of progressive network disconnections as public protests con- tinue #IranProtests,” NetBlocks.org tweeted with a chart that showed Internet traffic crashing to next to nothing.
Iran has been on an effective total lockdown over the past 48 hours as most media entities went offline apart from the country’s state tel- evision IrIB and Press TV who have access to unfiltered internet.
Protests are continuing across the country with reports of several dead and ongoing gunfire as people protest a 300% increase in the price of petrol that was suddenly imposed on November 16. Grievances over fuel appear to have spurred many, already upset with the government’s han- dling of affairs, to take to the streets.
The decision to cut off access to the world wide web was made by the Supreme National Security Council of Iran and communicated to internet service providers overnight, one source
close the government said.
“Internet users first reported outages in
Mashhad. The disruptions increased in extent and severity as of 21:15 UTC Friday (12:45 a.m. local time), continuing as of 00:00 UTC Saturday, with impact also visible on overall connectivity charts,” Netblocks reported on November 16.
real-time network data show connectivity has fallen to just 7% of ordinary levels leaving only select places connected to the Internet in the country.
bne IntelliNews Tehran bureau reported that people are now switching their mobile connec- tions down to 2G in some areas of the country, which allows limited access to the net.
Meanwhile, several internet users reported local news agencies, including the independent Iran Student News Agency, are now resorting to messaging platforms including Telegram and Twitter to report the news as their websites remain offline.
Banned Saudi-funded channel Iran Interna- tional reported that several cities are still con- nected to the internet on November 16, in cities including Shiraz, Karaj, Ahvaz and Darab.
The Tehran Grand Bazaar is also reportedly closed on November 17, as people remain at home to avoid conflict.™
Israel’s political turmoil holds up economic progress with Jordan
IsraeL/Jordan
ThE 25th anniversary of Israel and Jordan’s peace agreement has passed without ceremony, which mirrors the impasse in potential meetings between King Abdullah and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Amman has also rejected Tel Aviv’s request to extend the period during which Israeli farmers can continue to work their fields in the Tzohar and Naharayim enclaves now that the Israeli lease has expired and has offered financial resti- tution for any crops left in the fields.
Meetings at a lower level have continued and Israel sees Jordan as an important barrier between it and Iraq and beyond to Iran. A stable Jordan is a top Israeli national priority and the latter is keen to ensure that its neighbour does not fall to Islamist forces.
Unfortunately, the importance of this policy is not replicated on the economic front. For the past year at least, development of the Sea-to- Sea and red Sea-Dead Sea initiatives have been put on hold because of the political situation in Israel. The Sea-to-Sea Canal is intended to transport water from the red Sea to the Dead Sea to prevent the latter from drying up. Water treatment and desalination plants along the route would provide fresh water to all of south- ern Jordan, Israel’s eastern Negev and even the Gaza Strip.
The Jordan Gateway is a joint industrial zone planned near Kibbutz Tirat Tzvi in the Jordan Valley, envisioned as becoming a free trade zone. A bridge across the river Jordan connect- ing them has just been completed and products
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 46 20•November•2019