Iran’s Internet Blackout Hits 35th Day as Citizens Risk Their Lives Reaching Out

While drones and missiles are the main characters in the conflict between the Iranian regime and the U.S.-Israel coalition, there’s a digital war waging in the shadows since the hostilities started, involving Iranian citizens trying to maintain their connection to the world.

According to Netblocks, an internet observatory, the digital blockade affecting the Iranian population has reached its 35th day, cutting the country’s network connectivity to only 1%.

Iranian citizens have been employing several techniques to slip through the cracks of the regime’s digital wall, which, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, was established for security reasons to “protect the people.” Reports state that some virtual private networks (VPNs) can still be used to reach outside the National Information Network (NIN), Iran’s own digital intranet. Tor, through its Snowflake feature, can also be leveraged to break the blockade.

Nonetheless, the use of these tools can also put the lives of Iranians in danger, as the national authorities are cracking down on their use, even turning to check citizens’ phones to review if these tools are installed.

Starlink devices, which have been illegal for quite some time, with their usage punishable by death according to the law, are still available, even as the Iranian regime is also using jamming strategies to affect the satellite links provided by these terminals.

Only white-listed influencers and regime officials can reach outer networks freely, and this situation is expected to continue as long as the conflict endures.