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Iran’s Record Internet Block Stokes Fears Crackdown May Continue
Bloomberg News Middle East reporter Golnar Motevalli discusses the latest out of Iran as fears rise that Tehran’s crackdown on protesters may persist.
Iran is enduring its most extensive internet blackout on record, activists say, raising fears that Tehran’s crackdown on protesters may persist despite assurances it would ease punishments.
The internet shutdown has lasted eight days, longer than the blackout during the country’s 2019 demonstrations, global internet monitor Netblocks said on Friday.
The outage is continuing even as protests died down following a violent wave of repression, choking the flow of information coming out of the country and cutting off Iranians from the rest of the world. Nearly 3,500 people have died and at least 20,000 have been arrested in the demonstrations since late December, according to Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group. Other estimates suggest the number of fatalities may be significantly higher.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi pledged on Wednesday not to execute protesters, after US President Donald Trump raised fears of a military strike by urging Iranians to continue opposing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s rule and saying “help is on the way.” Yet, the risk of military action remains.
Elon Musk’s Starlink, a satellite internet service that works separately from the national telecommunications network, also agreed to waive its subscription fee for Iranians after Trump called on the company to help restore communications. While Starlink is illegal in Iran, there may be about 50,000 terminals in the country that were smuggled in on the black market, according to Iranian human rights activist Ahmad Ahmadian. The service has provided a small amount of bandwidth for Iranians to share social media footage with the world.
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Published Jan 16, 2026
