CNN
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People trying to call friends and loved ones in Iran were instead met with strange, pre-recorded audio messages. This is also among experts who believe this is part of the administration’s wider internet blackout.
On the phone recordings heard by CNN, non-Iranians who wanted to hear their friends on other lines met instead by robotic voices. “Hello, thank you for taking the time,” the voice says.
“Life is full of unexpected surprises,” continues.
“The key is to discover the strength within us to overcome these challenges.”
An unsettling message that lasts nearly 90 seconds encourages listeners to close their eyes and imagine themselves in a place that brings “peace and happiness.”
There have been many different variations reported, but this version appears to have been heard most often by non-Iranians calling mobile phones in the country on Wednesday and Thursday. When calling landlines, no similar messages are reported.
The message was heard widely after Iran imposes temporary national restrictions on internet access on Wednesday, citing security concerns. This means WhatsApp is down, so people abroad have started calling Iranian friends and family directly, not via the app. Messages are reportedly not heard if a call is made through the app.
The first assumption for many Iranians was that the message was the result of Israeli cyberattacks. Others see Iranian authorities as behind them.
Alp Toker, founder and director of NetBlocks, a non-governmental organisation that monitors internet governance, sees it as a message from the Iranian government to limit telecommunications as part of a broader internet censorship measure.
“The point is that once the internet is cut, the phone needs to go somewhere, and that’s what’s going to be sent to the fallback message on the device,” he told CNN.
Toker added that it was a phenomenon that NetBlocks saw in various locations around the world when internet access was reduced. “Sometimes there are summer ads and sometimes there are other nonsense,” he said.
According to Toker, the message generates a speech from the text. He believes they appear to be set quickly.
“It’s the usual form of gateways that respond to the type of messages you might get from the National Gateway when the call doesn’t answer,” he said. “It seems they’re using settings. They also have a small box that you can put in the settings, and they put something in it and it was generated before school.”
Meanwhile, a UK-based telecommunications expert who heard the recording of the most commonly heard messages said, “The call appears to be hijacked after the second ring. This is very unusual and deeply concerning. This suggests interference at the network level – before proper connections are established” experts asked not to be named for safety reasons.
Neither Israel nor Iran has issued an official statement regarding the recorded phone messages.
“After about 62 hours of serious uproar, access to international internet services was partially restored in parts of Iran on Saturday.
“While some areas have seen improvements, overall connectivity is below normal levels, continuing to hinder our ability to communicate freely and access independent information,” he added.
The semi-dedicated Tasnim News Agency reported that international internet services will resume citing the Minister of Communications by 8pm on Saturday. However, Tasnim later reported that, citing the same minister.
According to the Ministry of Communications, Iranians abroad can contact families in Iran through domestic messaging apps.
The Iranian government frequently restricts internet access in the country. During the 2022 national protests, authorities implemented multiple internet shutdowns to curb the objections.