Over 90 Million Iranians Isolated as Internet Blackout Enters Seventh Day

Iran has entered the seventh day of a near-total telecommunications blackout, which has now lasted over 144 hours and ranks among the longest in the country’s history, according to NetBlocks.

The network monitoring organization said the blackout continues to isolate more than 90 million Iranians from the outside world, The Caspian Post reports, citing bne IntelliNews.

Data indicate the shutdown began as nationwide protests erupted across the Islamic Republic.

Calls to Iran by bne IntelliNews revealed that many locals were completely unreachable. Some reports indicate that one-way calls to foreign numbers were possible. Social messaging apps remain largely disconnected, and several Iranian newspapers have been entirely cut off, though a few have managed to stay online via government-controlled internet networks.

The extended disruption coincides with Iran’s most significant wave of civil unrest in decades. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 2,571 people have been killed in the protests, marking a death toll higher than any previous unrest in Iran in decades.

On January 13, some Iranians were able to make international phone calls for the first time in days, revealing partial details of the government crackdown that followed the initial nationwide communications shutdown.

Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, announced on January 14 that authorities plan to conduct swift trials and executions for detained protesters. In response, US President Donald Trump warned he would “take very strong action” if executions proceed and confirmed that negotiations with Iranian leaders are being terminated.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged on January 13 that government failures to address complaints from merchants and guild members in a timely manner helped create conditions for the protests, according to Tasnim News Agency.

The telecommunications blackout has prevented independent verification of events inside Iran and severely limited communication between protesters and international media. Previous internet shutdowns during the 2019 protests lasted roughly one week.