In a move that has drawn significant global attention, Iran’s government has enforced an almost complete internet shutdown, marking the longest nationwide outage ever recorded in any country. This information comes from a global monitoring group that tracks internet disruptions worldwide.

According to NetBlocks, an organization that monitors cybersecurity and internet governance, Iran’s access to the global internet has been restricted to merely 1% of its pre-war levels. This dramatic reduction occurred shortly after a joint attack by the United States and Israel on February 28.

Prior to this, Iran imposed another severe internet blackout lasting 20 days in January. This earlier shutdown coincided with widespread protests across the nation, during which thousands of people were reportedly killed. The result is that for a significant portion of 2026, Iranian citizens have found themselves navigating life in near-total digital isolation.

In a statement released on Sunday, NetBlocks noted, “Iran is the first country to have had internet connectivity and then subsequently lost it by reverting to a national network.” This national network provides only limited access, offering a few basic services along with state-controlled news and messaging platforms.

As the world watches, the implications of such extensive internet restrictions continue to unfold, raising questions about connectivity, freedom, and the power of digital control.

‘Cut off the voice of Iranians’

Iranian Australian Saeid Zand told SBS News the internet crackdown shows Iran’s government is under pressure to quell uprisings by limiting people’s ability to plan collective action.

“They want to cut off the voice of Iranians; no-one hears from them, and they do what they like to the Iranians,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate because we don’t hear from our families, with our friends, and we don’t know what exactly is going on back home.”

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said in March that the government is only permitting those who can “get the voice out” to access the internet. That has included senior officials, state-linked figures and news agencies.

Although countries like Myanmar and Sudan — and the regions of Kashmir in South Asia and Tigray in northern Ethiopia — have experienced longer intermittent outages, none have undergone a state-imposed shutdown of this magnitude for such an extended period, NetBlocks added.

No other conflicts, including those in Ukraine and Gaza, are known to “have sent an entire country offline” in the way Iran has, the monitor said.

No end in sight

During the January blackout, the government said many online businesses could not survive more than three weeks without connectivity, according to Reuters reports.

The struggling economy was losing tens of millions of dollars in direct damages each day, it said, in addition to the indirect and cumulative impacts of a nationwide shutdown.

The daily economic costs to Iran of this even longer shutdown could therefore be much higher.

Zand said that Iranians will adapt their lives during the shutdown, some going offline and others using Starlink, which provides satellite internet.

“But this is very risky because if the government and the regime find out that they have internet access specifically to the Starlink, it puts them at huge risk,” he said.

While the crackdown continues, Iranians in Australia fear for their relatives’ safety, he said.

“Shutting down the internet is an old move of Iran, and it could do it for who knows how much longer,” he added.

The administration of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, which had made restoring openness to Iran’s internet environment a key campaign pledge less than two years ago, has yet to provide an official explanation for the shutdown.

Authorities have also not clarified how they expect what remains of the country’s damaged digital sector and its globally isolated economy to withstand the months and years ahead, as the war continues.

The crackdown on telecommunications continues as US President Donald Trump ratchets up pressure on Iran, threatening in an expletive-laden Easter Sunday ⁠social media post to ⁠target Iran’s power plants and bridges if the strategic Strait of Hormuz ⁠is not reopened.

In response to Trump’s threats, Iran demanded an end to hostilities.

— With additional reporting by Reuters.

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