Iran plans to extend internet blackout into spring - IranWire
Iran plans to maintain its nationwide internet blackout until at least the Iranian New Year in late March, IranWire reported on Thursday, citing media activists briefed by the government spokesperson.
The outlet said government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told media activists that access to international online services would not be restored before Nowruz, which falls around March 20.
“The shutdown, now in its second week, is also expected to remain in place until after the end of the 40-day mourning period for those killed in recent nationwide protests,” IranWire said.
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks said Iran’s current blackout had passed 180 hours, exceeding the core length of the 2019 shutdown, with no partial or regional restoration so far.
“In 2019, it was only after connectivity was restored that the scale of the brutal crackdown became known,” the group said in a post on social media.
Iran International reported earlier this week that Iranian authorities were in the final stages of rolling out what sources described as an “internet kill switch” project, designed to enable prolonged nationwide shutdowns.
That project aims to move core digital services, banking platforms and public infrastructure onto a national network, making extended blackouts easier to enforce, according to the report.
