Iran’s nationwide internet blackout enters second week

As of Thursday, the Iranian government has completely blocked 92 million users from accessing the internet for more than 170 hours. The blackout, which began on January 8, represents one of the longest nationwide internet shutdowns on record. According to Isik Mater, the director of research at NetBlocks, a web monitoring company tracking internet disruptions, the current outage is the third longest in history. It is surpassed only by a shutdown in Sudan in 2021 that lasted around 35 days, and a 22-day outage in Mauritania in 2024. For comparison, Iran’s previous longest shutdowns lasted around 163 hours in 2019 and 160 hours in 2025. Mater noted, “Iran’s shutdowns remain among the most comprehensive and tightly enforced nationwide blackouts we’ve observed, particularly in terms of population affected.” Zach Rosson, a researcher at Access Now, a digital rights nonprofit studying internet disruptions, stated that the ongoing shutdown is on a path to crack the top 10 longest shutdowns in history.

The blackout was initiated following more than 600 protests in cities across Iran. These demonstrations have been met with a brutal and deadly crackdown by authorities. A U.S.-based human rights group estimates that the Iranian government’s violent crackdown has led to the deaths of at least 2,000 people. The sudden shutdown on January 8 initially cut off even government institutions like the foreign ministry, though some access for bank transfers, payment processors at gas stations, and specific government departments has since been restored.

To bypass the blackout, some Iranians have used Starlink, a satellite internet service. However, Iranian authorities have actively countered these efforts by making Starlink terminals illegal, jamming neighborhoods, and confiscating the devices. The crisis has also triggered significant international reactions. The United Kingdom closed its embassy in Tehran and evacuated its staff, while Iran temporarily closed its airspace on Wednesday. In the U.S., President Donald Trump threatened military intervention if violence continued, while the U.S. military reportedly redirected a naval strike group from the South China Sea to the Middle East. On Wednesday, Trump commented on the situation, stating he had information that “the killing has stopped and the executions won’t take place,” before adding, “who knows?”

Why it matters

The ongoing internet shutdown in Iran is one of the longest on record, complicating the monitoring of widespread anti-government protests and drawing international geopolitical attention.