Ex-deputy national security counsel Victoria Coates examines President Donald Trump’s position on Iran subsequent to the discovery of a downed U.S. aircraft within Iran, featured on ‘The Bottom Line.’
With the United States and Israel concluding their fifth week of hostilities against Iran, roughly 93 million non-combatants residing within Iran find themselves trapped in a combat area, lacking either a missile warning system or internet access. Furthermore, an additional 4 million individuals of Iranian heritage globally are disconnected from their loved ones and relatives who remain in Iran.
Despite the Islamic Republic leaving its populace uninformed, Holistic Resilience, an assembly of engineers dedicated to online liberty, utilizes an application named Mahsa Alert to illuminate the path.
This application bears the name of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian female who passed away in 2022 subsequent to her apprehension by Iran’s “morality police.” This particular unit routinely apprehends women they deem to be non-compliant with the nation’s compulsory headscarf regulations. Her demise served as the catalyst for extensive demonstrations, following many years of suppression. Amini’s likeness presently embodies the movement recognized as Woman, Life, Freedom.
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Holistic Resilience indicated its initial awareness of inadequate civilian safeguards throughout the 12-day conflict involving Israel and Iran in June 2025.
Numerous non-combatants dwelling within Iran are ensnared in a battle zone, lacking a missile warning mechanism or online access. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“They are verifying the vicinities of their dear ones’ districts to ascertain no area might conceivably be a target for these assaults, and to advise them to keep clear,” stated Ahmad Ahmadian, the managing director of Holistic Resilience.
Leveraging crowdsourcing and publicly available information, volunteers scrutinize approximately 100 pieces of advice daily for their credibility and precision. Such communications may manifest as social media clips, images, or Telegram messages. They also meticulously examine recordings from roughly 18,000 surveillance cameras across the nation.
Given its status as the world’s 17th-largest nation geographically, Iran poses a considerable cartographical hurdle.
“We must be prepared to promptly disseminate that alert. The previous instance occurred, I believe, in the dead of night,” Ahmadian remarked. “I possess associates dedicating close to 16 hours to this endeavor. We’ve sustained this initiative through self-financing since its inception, and we’ve persisted despite numerous obstacles. The rationale is that it’s a vital resource for people, and it preserves existence.”
Online access within Iran is estimated to be below 1%. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
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The Israeli military periodically publishes evacuation advisories on its Farsi-language X profile. A prior update from this account displayed cautions such as: “During the forthcoming hours, the IDF will conduct operations in this vicinity, mirroring its activities in recent days throughout Tehran, to target the military installations of the Iranian government. For your protection and welfare, we request that you promptly vacate the region depicted on the map.”
Given that online access in Iran is calculated at under 1%, Israeli evacuation warnings frequently do not reach the non-combatants they are meant to assist.
Non-combatants relocating to unfamiliar towns or urban centers can employ the Mahsa Alert application as an essential support, pinpointing medical facilities, blood repositories, official checkpoints, or refuges even without an internet connection.
“We’ve comprehended, alright, if individuals begin to relocate and are uprooted, they require visibility of vital necessities, the crucial sites,” Ahmadian expressed.
The Iranian administration, as per Holistic Resilience, prioritizes its aims outside its national boundaries above the welfare of its own populace.
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“Rather than audible alarms, dispatching emergency notifications to the general populace, daily the Ministry of Intelligence transmits text messages intimidating individuals, [stating] if you disseminate data with others, we shall be aware and will pursue you,” Ahmadian conveyed.
Being the globe’s 17th-largest nation in terms of landmass, Iran poses a substantial cartographic difficulty. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The administration has charged those supplying data to the platform with operating as Israeli espionage agents or accumulating intelligence for the American armed forces. The collective has faced assaults from the Iranian government, stemming from both cyber-intrusions and the intentional distribution of false details to erode the group’s trustworthiness. Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 has documented a pervasive rise in cyber-menace operations conducted by Iranian entities subsequent to the commencement of hostilities in late February.
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In a particular case, Ahmadian recounted that an alert claimed projectiles were being fired from a distinct structure, which the organization subsequently determined to be a female students’ residence at an academic institution. He stated the group suspected the information might have been purposed to misdirect targeting, thereby providing the Iranian government with material for its anti-Israel and anti-U.S. propaganda initiative, although FOX Business could not independently confirm this.
“Through elevating the count of non-combatant fatalities, they intensify their propaganda campaign,” Ahmadian asserted. “This engagement is not ours. It has never been our engagement.”