US attacks knock 116 telecom towers offline in southern Iran

US attacks knocked 116 telecommunications towers offline in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, disrupting landline, mobile phone and internet services, an Iranian official said Saturday.

Hormozgan’s director-general of communications and information technology said the attacks occurred Friday night and damaged traffic and bandwidth transmission lines, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency.

The damage disrupted telecommunications services in parts of northern Bandar Abbas and Hajiabad, the official said.

“During the attack, 116 telecommunications towers were knocked offline, and landline, mobile phone and internet services are currently cut off in some northern areas of the province,” he added.

Work to rebuild and restore the communications network has begun, with equipment and operational teams dispatched from within Hormozgan and neighboring provinces, the official said.

Tensions have heightened in the Middle East, where the US and Iran continue to exchange attacks.

The military escalation comes despite a Pakistan-brokered memorandum of understanding signed in June to end the war and reach a lasting peace agreement.