Iran International
Iran is ramping up its control of domestic cyberspace with a closed new state-run intranet, according to a US-based advocacy group, after a nationwide internet blackout cloaked the deadliest crackdown on protests in nearly half a century.
“Like North Korea, the Islamic Republic has been working to build an intranet, and it is scary. It will be blocking off Iran," said Neda Bolourchi, the executive director of the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans.
The Washington-based PAAIA works to amplify Iranian American voices and advocate for policy solutions on Capitol Hill.
Iran's internet blackout began on January 8 as the uprisings spread nationwide and security forces launched a sweeping crackdown.
At least 12,000 people were killed, most of them over January 8 and 9 according to medics and government sources who spoke to Iran International.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has since acknowledged that “several thousands” were killed, while doctors say most deaths occurred over just two days during what they describe as the most violent phase of repression in the Islamic Republic’s 47-year history.
With near-total internet and phone shutdowns in place, independent verification remains extremely difficult, and medical sources warn the true toll could be higher.
Where does the blackout stand now?
Bolourchi said the shutdown remains severe but not absolute, and that the small openings are not born of restraint but aim to support a bare minimum of business activity especially in the banking sector.
“We’re getting reports that landlines are sporadically available and that some of the throttling has been reduced,” she said.
A limited number of calls and messages are still getting out through platforms such as WhatsApp, though at dramatically reduced levels.
The Islamic Republic, she explained, cannot fully cut connectivity without paralyzing its own systems. Banks, hospitals and parts of the economy still depend on the internet to function, forcing authorities to allow just enough access to keep the state running while the broader population remains largely cut off.
Satellite internet, once a critical lifeline, has also come under heavy pressure. Bolourchi said authorities are using jamming equipment to disrupt Starlink connections while simultaneously confiscating receivers, which are visible and easy to locate.
She warned that possession of such tools has become increasingly dangerous, as the clerical establishment expands the use of severe charges traditionally reserved for enemies of the state.
The length of the blackout itself, Bolourchi said, points to something more permanent taking shape.
Unlike previous shutdowns that proved economically unsustainable after a few days, this current outage has persisted, suggesting the Islamic Republic has made significant progress in separating government infrastructure from public access.
That shift, she warned, could leave ordinary Iranians trapped inside a sealed digital ecosystem, unable to communicate freely with the outside world even after protests subside.
Bolourchi argued that the United States still has leverage if it chooses to use it, pointing to legislation already passed by Congress that was intended to fund internet circumvention tools for Iran, including support for satellite connectivity and VPNs.
Congress, she said, went further than requested by approving $15 million annually for these efforts.
“A lot could have been done over the past year that would be helping the people of Iran right now,” Bolourchi said, citing bureaucratic and funding delays. “Instead, we’re always in a reactive position.”
