"Iranians struggle with GPS disruption after Israel war" 17 August 2025

Unprecedented disruption has plagued users of GPS, which stands for Global Positioning System, in Iran since Israel's surprise attack in mid-June which triggered a deadly 12-day war...Iran's communications ministry has said the disruptions were necessary for "security and military purposes", without giving further explanation...Iran has long employed GPS jamming and spoofing around sensitive military sites but the recent disruptions have been the most sustained and widespread...

Ride-hailing apps, delivery platforms, and even basic mapping services like Google Maps and its Iranian equivalent Neshan have buckled under the interference...In early August, the chief executive of the Neshan mapping app, Javad Amel, said in a video interview that daily disruptions through GPS spoofing had been ongoing for years, especially in Tehran...But he explained in recent weeks that Neshan's daily active users "had dropped by 15 percent, while navigation activity on the app fell by 20 percent"...

Former communications minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi argued the disruption was costly and would likely have limited defensive results...With the significant impact on civilian lives, deputy communications minister Ehsan Chitsaz suggested that Iran could consider alternatives to GPS...But experts say that replacing GPS would be complex...

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