Internet Blackout in Iran Leaves Citizens Anxious and Isolated
PARIS — Iran’s internet remains at “around 1 percent of ordinary levels,” internet monitor Netblocks reported Thursday, leaving most Iranians cut off from independent news and communication with the outside world.
Authorities shut off internet access Saturday following the start of US and Israeli air strikes, plunging the country into an information blackout that has now stretched beyond five days.
“Iran’s internet blackout has now exceeded 120 hours with connectivity still flatlining around 1 percent of ordinary levels,” Netblocks said in a message on social media platform X.
Some Iranians report brief moments during the day when connections become available, allowing them to send messages. Others have turned to unauthorized Starlink subscriptions. Phone calls to Iran from overseas — whether to mobile phones or landlines — remain nearly impossible.
Life Inside the Blackout
“The internet speed is very slow,” a Tehran resident said in a message, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “You can’t call and voice messages don’t get delivered. We can just text.”
Netblocks noted that Iranian telecom companies have begun sending messages to “threaten users who try to connect to the global internet with legal action.”
A resident in Bukan in western Iran described the situation as “abysmal.”
“It connects and disconnects. The connection is slow, so the VPNs don’t work,” they said in a message.
Under normal circumstances, Iranians rely on VPNs to access Western internet services such as Instagram, which are banned inside the country.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Some individuals with functioning connections are working to help others stay informed.
Shima, a 33-year-old in Tehran, said she is assisting friends by sharing news about life in the capital, which has faced waves of missile and bombing strikes since Saturday.
“I need to call a lot of people, even strangers, on behalf of their families,” she said.
The blackout has left families inside Iran unable to reach relatives abroad and cut off from news about the conflict unfolding around them. For those outside the country, contacting loved ones inside has become a daily struggle marked by failed calls and undelivered messages.
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