The current shutdown prevents citizens from messaging family members, documenting local events or accessing real-time updates on the ongoing conflict.
Iran’s national internet shutdown entered its 37th consecutive day this week, marking the longest nation-wide blackout ever recorded, according to London-based global internet monitor NetBlocks. The report comes on a day the war intensified as US claimed it had rescued the second airman from behind enemy lines while Tehran claimed it had shot down several aircraft belonging to the US including two C-130 aircraft and two Black Hawk helicopters.
Data from monitor NetBlocks shows the outage in Iran surpassed 864 hours, a duration that exceeds any previous disruption in global history.
Ground impact
The blackout mirrors a similar move by the Iranian government in January, when authorities cut access for weeks during widespread protests. Analysts, speaking to CNN, warn that the lack of connectivity creates a “fog of war.”
The current shutdown prevents citizens from messaging family members, documenting local events or accessing real-time updates on the ongoing conflict.
Without an open internet, information rarely leaves or enters the country, leaving millions of people in a communications vacuum as the crisis continues.
National isolation
While countries like North Korea remain permanently isolated, the shutdown in Iran is different. It moved from a fully connected state to a closed national network, which distinguishes the country from other regions facing long-term disruptions.
Earlier conflicts and unrest in Myanmar, Sudan, and Tigray saw severe connectivity drops in the regions. However, NetBlocks confirmed that no other event, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, has ever sent an entire country offline for this long.
