Tue, Mar 31, 2026 page5

• Iran 30 days into Internet blackout, isolating millions

  • AFP, PARIS
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  Iran’s nationwide Internet blackout on Sunday entered its 30th consecutive day, leaving millions cut off from information and communications since the war with the US and Israel began.

  Iran’s Internet “blackout has now entered day 30 as the nationwide censorship measure continues into its fifth week after 696 hours,” Internet monitoring group NetBlocks said on social media on Sunday.

  While the domestic Intranet remains operational — supporting local messaging apps, banking platforms and other services — access to the global Internet has been severely restricted. Many Iranians have been left with little choice but to rely on state-controlled platforms and costly alternatives to stay in touch with loved ones.

  

  A couple pose for a selfie on a beach by the Caspian Sea in Sorkhrud, Iran, on Tuesday last week.

  Photo: AFP

  “Being without Internet is really hard. When even foreign TV channels are cut off due to signal interference, we don’t have access to any news except the state TV,” said Arshia, a marketing manager in Tehran.

  “We get updates from friends and family by phone, but it’s very difficult, we’re constantly stressed,” the 37-year-old added. “Our biggest concern now is that they might not reconnect the Internet at all, and we could end up becoming like North Korea. Holding onto hope is really hard. The only thing we can do now is spend all our time together as a family.”

  Journalists in Paris have been able to contact residents in Iran primarily via WhatsApp or Telegram during short bursts of connectivity, through virtual private networks.

  Maryam, a 33-year-old private-sector employee, said the first weeks of the shutdown were especially difficult.

  “It was very hard at the beginning of the war. I had no connection with my family in another city except phone calls,” she said. “Now we use an Iranian messaging app and can make video calls. It’s not great, but we are managing in these terrible times.”

  For many, particularly those with loved ones outside Iran, communication has become both limited and expensive.

  Milad, a 27-year-old clothes salesman, said he has struggled to stay in touch with relatives abroad.

  “My family lives in Turkey and I have no way of communicating with them online,” he said. “I have to make direct phone calls, which are very expensive, so I rarely hear from them.”

  Restrictions have also narrowed access to information, with users largely confined to domestic platforms and local media, offering only a partial picture of events.

  Iran has previously imposed Internet blackouts during periods of unrest, including for several weeks during nationwide protests in January and during a 12-day war with Israel in June last year.

  Following the January unrest, access had partially resumed, although it remained heavily filtered and restricted, before being largely cut off again after the outbreak of the current war on Feb. 28.

  Some users have managed limited workarounds, although connectivity remains highly unstable.

  Hanieh, a 31-year-old ceramist in Tehran, said that she regained partial access after nearly two weeks.

  “I managed to find a workaround with so much difficulty,” she said, adding that the connection remained unreliable.
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