Internet connectivity across Iran sharply collapsed on Thursday, with multiple monitoring firms reporting a near-total blackout as protests continued in cities across the country.
Monitoring Firms Report Widespread Connectivity Loss
Internet disruption became apparent as traffic levels across Iran dropped suddenly, according to several independent monitoring services. NetBlocks, Cloudflare, and IODA all recorded significant declines in connectivity at roughly the same time.
Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik, told TechCrunch that Iran’s internet has been in a near-total blackout since around 11:30 a.m. on the U.S. East Coast, which corresponds to about 8 p.m. local time in Tehran.
Experts Describe Near-Complete Disconnection
Amir Rashidi, an Iranian cybersecurity researcher with the nonprofit Miaan Group, said the scale of the disruption suggests the country is almost entirely cut off from external networks.
“I think we’re at a near-total disconnection from the outside world now,” Rashidi told TechCrunch.
David Belson, head of data insight at Cloudflare, said only minimal traffic remains visible. “We continue to see a small amount of traffic, but the country is effectively completely offline,” he said.
Protests Follow Economic Pressures
The connectivity collapse follows protests that began in late December across several Iranian cities. Demonstrations erupted after a sharp decline in the value of Iran’s currency, which led to shortages of goods and steep price increases.
According to The New York Times, some shops in Tehran’s traditional bazaar have remained closed for 11 days amid the unrest.
Government Role And Official Response
Rashidi said Iran’s government, which tightly controls internet access nationwide, is responsible for the blackout. The government has also responded to the protests with a violent crackdown, according to reports from inside the country.
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