Int'l phone services restored in Iran

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Int'l phone services restored in Iran

2026-01-14 09:33 Last Updated At：16:31

International phone services were reportedly restored in Iran on Tuesday following days of unrest in the country.

While internet outages continued by Tuesday afternoon, users were said to be able to connect to government-approved domestic websites and apps, and people could now make and receive calls normally by using domestic Iranian phone cards.

Meanwhile, the traffic and social order in Tehran have started to restore since Monday afternoon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday in an interview with Al Jazeera that his country is ready for war but remains open to dialogue, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military is considering "very strong options" regarding Iran amid recent unrest.

Araghchi's interview followed Trump's threat to resort to "some very strong options," including potential military action against Iran, in response to Iran's "crackdown" on protesters.

Also on Monday, Iranian Defense minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said that Tehran has painful military surprises in its response to any military attacks it may face.

On the same day, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry said in a statement that its forces had detained more than 40 U.S.- and Israel-affiliated "terrorists" across the provinces of Kerman, Tehran, West Azarbaijan, and Lorestan during recent "riots" in the country, and had seized large amounts of arms and explosive materials from them.

Abdolrahim Mousavi, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, on Tuesday condemned the actions of the United States and Israel in using terrorists to create unrest in Iran, saying the Iranian armed forces will do everything in their power to safeguard national interests, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Protests have erupted in many Iranian cities since Dec. 28. They initially began with Tehran bazaar merchants demonstrating against the sharp devaluation of the national currency rial, and soaring inflation, before spreading to other cities. The unrest has led to casualties among both security forces and civilians.

The unrest has fueled claims by Iranian authorities that the United States and Israel may be behind the scenes.

BeiDou Navigation Satellite System to carry out in-orbit upgrades

China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) will carry out an in-orbit upgrade in the near future to further improve service quality and optimize the operational status of some satellites, according to the China Satellite Navigation Office.

During the upgrade period, the office said it will continue to strengthen joint commissioning and testing of satellites in orbit, as well as monitoring and maintenance of service performance, in order to ensure a stable user experience.

The BeiDou system is a mature, fully functional and high-performing global satellite navigation system, and it currently has 50 satellites in orbit. The accuracy of its space signal is better than two meters, while global positioning accuracy is better than 10 meters. The system also achieves a velocity measurement accuracy better than 0.2 meters per second and timing accuracy within 20 nanoseconds.

So far, the BeiDou system has become deeply integrated into China's overall economic and social development, continuing to provide high-precision positioning, navigation and timing services to a wide range of users, and serving as a key technological enabler for industrial development and people's daily life.