Politics Internet in Iran remains disrupted
The Internet in Iran remains disrupted more than two weeks after the start of the communications blockade. Data from the IT company Cloudflare on Monday showed around 30 percent of the usual web traffic compared to the time before the blockade.
26.01.2026, 10:31
SDA
More and more people in the country are also managing to reconnect with the world using so-called tunnel services (VPN). Some apps and websites have been unblocked, as reported by residents of major Iranian cities.
However, the organization Netblocks, which specializes in network blocking, wrote on Monday that the blackout had been ongoing for 18 days. It continues to conceal the extent of the state's deadly actions against the civilian population.
Discussions within the power apparatus
Iran's security apparatus imposed the measure on the evening of January 8, when crowds of people took to the streets against the authoritarian government. The state leadership brutally crushed the protests over the course of two nights. According to the US magazine "Time", up to 30,000 people may have been killed. The magazine cites two senior officials from the Iranian Ministry of Health.
According to an analysis by the Critical Threats Project (CTP), the internet ban has triggered discussions within the power structure. According to the analysis, some groups fear that lifting the internet ban could spark new protests. Others, on the other hand, see the economic consequences of the blockade itself as a possible trigger for further demonstrations.
The President of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently warned of unforeseeable consequences for the economy. More than 400,000 companies are threatened in their existence, Gholamhossein Shafei told the online portal "Asre-Eghtesad". If the internet lockdown continues, the livelihoods of around nine million employees will be at stake.
