Iran experienced a near-total internet blackout on Thursday amid widespread protests across the country, according to multiple internet monitoring organisations.
Web monitoring firms including NetBlocks, Cloudflare, and IODA recorded sharp drops in connectivity nationwide, while analysts said only minimal traffic remained. Amir Rashidi, an Iranian cybersecurity researcher with the nonprofit Miaan Group, said Iran was “near-total[ly] disconnected from the outside world.”
Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik, confirmed that Iran’s internet had been in “near-total blackout” since around 8 p.m. local time in Tehran. Cloudflare’s head of data insight, David Belson, said the country was “effectively completely offline.”
Protests erupted late last month in several Iranian cities following a steep fall in the value of the national currency, leading to shortages and rising prices. Some shops in Tehran’s historic bazaar have reportedly remained closed for more than 10 days.
Rashidi said the blackout was imposed by the Iranian government, which tightly controls internet access. Iranian authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the foreign ministry’s website was inaccessible at the time of reporting.
