Iran: the longest internet shutdown in history

In 2026, around 90 million people in Iran were cut off from the rest of the world for more than 100 days. The second shutdown, from February 28 to May 26, lasted 2,093 hours according to the observatory NetBlocks. It is the longest nationwide internet shutdown ever recorded.

January: cutting off to cover up

In late December 2025, a currency collapse and soaring inflation sparked protests that began with a strike at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. They spread to all 31 of the country’s provinces.

On the evening of January 8, 2026, the authorities shut down the internet almost entirely. This time, they went further than during the 2019 and 2022 shutdowns: even the national network, the intranet Iran built to keep its services running when it cuts itself off from the world, was taken down, along with landlines and international calls.

According to Amnesty International, the killings of protesters were concentrated on January 8 and 9, and the shutdown was imposed to “conceal the crimes” of the authorities. By mid-January, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran was reporting at least 5,000 deaths.

Text messaging came back on January 17, followed by connectivity from January 27. But the internet did not return as it was before: only regime-approved services were accessible. Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp, YouTube and X remained blocked.

February to May: the war

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel struck Iran. That same day, the country’s internet traffic fell below 1% of its normal level. This time, the regime kept the national network running for local services while cutting off access to the rest of the world.

The shutdown lasted until May 26, when the president ordered access restored. The Minister of Communications himself estimated its cost at around US$35 million per day.

A two-tier internet

During those months, access became a privilege:

“White” SIM cards gave full access to officials, state agencies and state media.
An “Internet Pro” plan, roughly three times more expensive, required formal identity verification.
Text messages signed “POLICE” threatened prosecution against people who repeatedly tried to reach the global internet.
Personal use of Starlink in Iran is punishable by prison, and its signals were jammed.

What this teaches us

During a total shutdown, almost nothing works. Tor, like VPNs, needs at least one thread to the outside world. But as soon as connectivity returns, even filtered, circumvention tools become vital again:

According to Tor Metrics estimates, Tor bridge users in Iran dropped to a few dozen per day in mid-January, then climbed back to more than 27,000 on January 27 and around 55,000 by the end of February.
After May 26, they went from about 1,400 to more than 39,000 in four days. Snowflake usage nearly doubled.
The circumvention tool Psiphon counted 9.5 million daily users in Iran on January 30, partly thanks to 200,000 diaspora volunteers who shared their connection.

These numbers show that every bridge, every relay and every volunteer counts the moment a breach opens.

And today?

As of October 2026, the internet in Iran has still not returned to its pre-January 8 state, according to the organization Filterwatch. Instagram, YouTube, Telegram, WhatsApp, X and Facebook remain blocked. A new regulation requires that all online activity be traceable to “a single natural person” and prohibits concealing one’s identity, providing a legal basis for prosecuting VPN users.

What you can do

Install the Snowflake extension in your browser: your computer becomes a temporary bridge for people facing censorship.
If you know how to run servers, operate a Tor bridge or write to us.
Support our servers: our bridges exist for exactly this purpose, letting people connect to Tor where it is blocked.