Monitor Says Iran Without Internet Connectivity For About 4 Days
NetBlocks during the previous shutdown in Iran estimated that it cost the country over $37 million.
Washington: Internet monitoring group NetBlocks says Iran has been offline now for 100 hours.
This is the second such blackout this year imposed by Iranian authorities. The first was for nationwide protests in January.
NetBlocks says metrics show internet connectivity at 1% of normal levels.
NetBlocks during the previous shutdown in Iran estimated that it cost the country over $37 million.
Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is down by about 90%
Shipping tracker MarineTraffic.com reports the sharp trend.
The disruption is costly for the global oil trade. A fifth of the world's oil passes through the strait.
Major shipping firms have routed vessels away from the area over security concerns.
More alerts in Israel
Sirens warning of incoming drones and projectiles have been going off almost nonstop for the past hour and a half in different parts of northern Israel.
The Israeli military said that at least some of the fire came from Lebanon.
For the third time Wednesday, there are new sirens in central Jerusalem announcing incoming fire. One loud boom could be heard. Sirens also went off in Tel Aviv.
Israel's rescue services said there were no immediate casualties from latest barrage.
US military is helping Americans leave Middle East
"We've also opened up space available, seats, as C-17s and other airplanes come in to try to help folks get out," the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says, referring to the large C-17 military transport planes.
Dan Caine gave no details how many Americans are being helped. The US State Department has urged citizens to leave more than a dozen countries.
Israel says military coordination with US means thousands of calls a day
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity under military protocol, estimates there are 4,000 to 5,000 calls daily to coordinate between Israel and the US across the chain of command.
The official also says top US and Israeli commanders began planning the war's opening strike three weeks ago.
Analyst says some areas in Iran now resemble Gaza's ruins
Stephane Cohen of Israel's Institute for National Security Studies Data Analytics Centre says that based on Israel's announced targets and satellite imagery, the campaign resembles a dentist's "root canal" - dismantling Iran's defence infrastructure and preventing rapid reconstruction.
Targets have included missile sites, Revolutionary Guard stations, naval bases and air defence systems.
The volume of munitions and scale of visible damage far exceed last year's 12-day war, Cohen said. In some places, the ash, dust and rubble resemble strikes on Gaza.
Cohen says it's "everything related to the regime."
