Nurses refuse Iran’s tiered internet offer during shutdown

The organization said authorities had offered “Internet Pro” access to its members amid wartime restrictions.

The term is used by the Islamic Republic for tiered internet access granted to select groups, similar to so-called “white SIM cards” given to pro-government activists.

The decision came as tens of millions of Iranians have been cut off from the rest of the globe since US-Israeli strikes began on February 28. It has been described as the world’s longest state-imposed internet blackout to date.

Iran’s internet blackout entered its 58th day on Sunday, an outage NetBlocks has described as unprecedented in Iran and globally.

Under the new plan, approved by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, selected businesses and institutions would regain global internet access while much of the public remains restricted.

Iran’s exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi said on Sunday that he was relieved US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and cabinet members were unharmed after an attack at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

“This attack on the American President and American democracy is appalling,” he said in a post on X.

Iran would not reverse its decision regarding the Strait of Hormuz, a lawmaker said on Sunday, describing it as an order from the country’s leadership.

“We will not return the Strait of Hormuz to its previous state, and this is an order from the leadership,” said deputy parliament speaker Ali Nikzad.

He also said it was contradictory for US President Donald Trump to say Iran’s nuclear capability had been destroyed while still opposing its possession of nuclear facilities.

Iran’s armed forces would not back down against the United States and could carry out a preemptive attack when needed, an Iranian lawmaker said on Sunday.

“A preemptive attack has its own specific conditions, and we will carry it out whenever necessary,” said Fadahossein Maleki, a member of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee.

He added that at the current stage, neither a ceasefire nor negotiations had any meaning for Tehran.

An Iranian lawmaker said on Sunday that negotiating parties had demanded a role in managing the Strait of Hormuz and a 20-year halt to Iran’s uranium enrichment, while warning regional countries against allowing attacks on Iran from their territory.

Mahmoud Nabavian, a member of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, said the parties had also demanded that Iran hand over its enriched uranium.

“We are not people of compromise or surrender. We are people of battle until final victory,” he said.

Addressing regional countries, Nabavian said if Iran were attacked from their territory and its security was threatened, “no country in the region will have security.”

He also warned that if Iran’s water and power infrastructure were targeted, “the whole region will fall into complete darkness.”