Iran entered a near total internet blackout on Wednesday as it and Israel continued attacking each other, and questions swirled about whether the US will directly enter the war.
US president Donald Trump has been vague about whether he is planning to launch strikes on Iran, something analysts say Israel is very keen for. On Wednesday, Mr Trump was cryptic, telling journalists: “I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I’m going to do. I can tell you this: that Iran’s got a lot of trouble.”
On his official X account, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, seemingly responded to Mr Trump’s social media posts which included a call for “unconditional surrender” and a threat to assassinate him. He called the US president’s rhetoric “absurd,” and said “the Iranian nation isn’t frightened”.
Mr Khamenei said the US would suffer “irreparable harm” if it entered the war and that Israel made a “grave mistake” by attacking in the first place.
While Mr Trump said Iran reached out to him, suggesting representatives come to the White House, Iran’s mission to the United Nations dismissed this as “lies”, saying “no Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House”.
In a video released by his office on Wednesday evening, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel is “progressing step by step”.
“We control the skies over Tehran ... We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime,” Mr Netanyahu said.
Death tolls continue to mount. Though Iran’s official toll of 224 has not been updated since Monday, Washington-based organisation Human Rights Activists – which has a wide range of sources in the country – said at least 585 people had been killed by Tuesday night. These included 239 civilians, 123 military-related figures and 220 “unidentified” people.
Israel said 24 people had been killed by Wednesday and more than 804 injured, eight of whom were in a serious condition.
Israel and Iran say their actions are taken to protect national security.
Iran’s communications ministry said it will impose restrictions on internet access to stop Israel from misusing it, though this also makes it difficult for Iranians to contact loved ones or receive information about attacks.
Data from internet monitor NetBlocks reported a “near-total national internet blackout” by Wednesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military censor warned that anyone who publishes information “regarding the location of a strike”, including on social media, blogs and in “chats”, must “submit it for advance inspection” or be “charged”. Violations risk state security, said censor head Brig Gen Kobi Mandelblit.
Aid workers and others calling for a ceasefire in Gaza continue to worry that the direct confrontation between Israel and Iran is forcing attention from what is happening there. On Wednesday, Gaza’s health ministry said hospitals had received 144 dead bodies in the past 24 hours. This puts the recorded death toll at 55,637.
