Iranian internet blackout is longest nationwide shutdown on record: Global watchdog

PARIS – Iran’s internet blackout, which was imposed soon after the US and Israel attacked the country on Feb 28, is now the longest nationwide shutdown on record, according to the monitor NetBlocks.

“Iran’s internet blackout is now the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record in any country, exceeding all other comparable incidents in severity, having entered its 37th consecutive day, after 864 hours,” NetBlocks said in a post on social media platform X.

In another post, the monitor noted some countries had experienced intermittent or regional-level shutdowns over longer periods, while North Korea had never been connected to the global internet at all.

“We constantly find ourselves searching for ways to reconnect, just to be able to hear reliable news,” a 47-year-old woman in the central city of Isfahan told AFP on April 4.

“Being without internet feels like being without oxygen to me. I feel trapped and suffocated,” a 53-year-old man in Tehran said.

Iran’s severely restricted local internet has been working throughout the war, enabling people to access domestic websites.

To connect to the international internet for news or banned social media networks such as Instagram, some are using virtual private networks (VPNs) to mask their origins in rare moments when the network is available.

Iranians suspected of using VPNs since the war began have received text messages warning them of arrest or imprisonment.

Far fewer people have access to Starlink or other satellite-based internet providers, which are also banned.

Iranians were previously placed under an 18-day internet blackout in January amid anti-government protests during which thousands were killed. AFP