Iran Plunges Into Near-Total Internet Blackout Amid Widespread Protests
Connectivity collapses across the nation as monitoring firms report severe disruption, coinciding with anti-government demonstrations.
Internet connectivity across Iran collapsed on Thursday, web monitoring firms reported, as nationwide protests continued to escalate.
“I think we’re at a near-total disconnection from the outside world now,” stated Amir Rashidi, an Iranian cybersecurity researcher with the nonprofit Miaan Group.
Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik, a company tracking global internet traffic, echoed this assessment. He told TechCrunch that Iran’s internet had been in a “near-total blackout” since approximately 11:30 a.m. U.S. east coast time on Thursday, which was 8 p.m. local time in Tehran.
A chart showing how internet traffic dropped in Iran on Thursday around 11:30 a.m. ET
Independent monitors including NetBlocks, internet infrastructure firm Cloudflare, and connectivity tracking site IODA, all registered sharp declines in connectivity across Iran simultaneously.
“We continue to see a small amount of traffic, but the country is effectively completely offline,” David Belson, head of data insight at Cloudflare, confirmed.
The widespread disruption coincided with protests that erupted in several Iranian cities at the end of December. These demonstrations followed a significant drop in the national currency’s value, leading to goods shortages and dramatic price increases. Reports from The New York Times indicate some shops in Tehran’s traditional bazaar have remained closed for 11 days.
Iran’s government has responded to the unrest with a violent crackdown on protesters.
Rashidi attributed the internet blackout to the Iranian government, which maintains tight control over the country’s internet access.
Representatives for the Iranian government in the United States did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website was also inaccessible at the time of publication.
