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Iran’s Internet Blackout Enters Seventh Week, Sets Record for a Nationwide Shutdown

Officials have pushed users onto a state intranet, leaving international traffic near zero.

Overview

  • Connectivity monitors report the cutoff has passed 1,000 hours into its seventh week, with NetBlocks calling it the longest nationwide shutdown it has recorded.
  • The clampdown intensified on February 28 after U.S.–Israeli strikes, when Cloudflare measured a near‑instant 98% collapse in Iranian web traffic at about 07:00 UTC.
  • Iran is routing access through the National Information Network, a domestic intranet that keeps only pre‑approved services reachable through whitelisted paths.
  • Authorities are working to block satellite workarounds, with reports of military‑grade jamming and new legislation that can impose the death penalty for possessing or operating Starlink terminals.
  • Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International urge a restoration of access and warn of harm to emergency information and commerce, while U.S. Central Command says it will enforce a maritime blockade on traffic to Iranian ports and Iran’s military command issues counter‑warnings on Gulf security.