As Iran plunged into a sweeping internet blackout this week, Iranians abroad trying to reach family back home were met with something chillingly unfamiliar: eerie, pre-recorded voice messages in place of human contact.
Beginning Wednesday, mobile phone calls to Iran were intercepted mid-ring and rerouted to robotic recordings—90-second monologues that began benignly with “Hello, and thank you for taking the time to listen,” before devolving into vague affirmations about life’s hardships and imagined peace. No such messages were reported on landlines or encrypted apps like WhatsApp, which were rendered inaccessible by the blackout, according to a report by CNN.
The timing of the phenomenon comes as the United States destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Iranian authorities had previously imposed nationwide internet restrictions, citing undefined “security concerns.” Cut off from messaging apps, many turned to direct phone calls—only to encounter these bizarre audio interruptions. The recordings varied slightly but shared the same synthetic tone, leading digital rights experts to suspect the regime’s telecom infrastructure had been weaponized.
“The point is, when the internet is cut, the phones need to go somewhere, and that will go to the fallback message on the device,” Alp Toker, director of NetBlocks, an organization that tracks global internet access told CNN.
By Saturday, internet access had partially returned after more than 60 hours of severe disruption, but connectivity remained far below normal, and foreign communication channels were still unstable. The regime claimed international access would resume by evening, but reports from inside the country suggested otherwise. Meanwhile, officials promoted domestic messaging apps as an alternative—tools many fear are heavily surveilled.
Iran has repeatedly wielded internet blackouts as a tool of political control, most notably during the 2022 anti-regime protests. The latest disruption, paired with mysterious voice interference, adds a chilling new layer to Tehran’s growing arsenal of digital censorship, noted The New York Times.
In an address to the nation tonight, Trump said Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities were “completely and totally obliterated,” adding that any future attacks would be “far greater and a lot easier.”
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