Iran's digital economy battered by prolonged blackout
Maryam Sinaiee
Iran International
More than 1,000 hours of internet shutdown in Iran is crippling small businesses and startups, with officials estimating losses of at least $35 million per day.
Iran International
More than 1,000 hours of internet shutdown in Iran is crippling small businesses and startups, with officials estimating losses of at least $35 million per day.
The disruption has cut off companies that depend on global connectivity, from e-commerce retailers to freelance service providers.
With access largely limited to domestic platforms, many users cannot reach essential global tools such as search engines, email services and widely used social media networks.
Iran’s digital economy accounts for an estimated 5% to 6% of the country’s gross domestic product, underscoring the scale of the impact.
According to Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi, the shutdown is costing more than $35 million per day—roughly $1.5 billion since the start of the conflict.
Independent estimates suggest the losses may be even higher. Afshin Kolahi, a representative of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, has said the total daily economic damage, including indirect effects, could reach $80 million.
Officials say the restrictions are necessary to counter cyberattacks targeting government infrastructure. Many Iranians, however, believe the shutdown is also intended to make it harder for protests to spread.
‘Completely bankrupt’
Many small businesses have shut down or are close to collapse, while millions of workers have been partially or entirely pushed out of the economic cycle.
Entrepreneurs who once relied on platforms such as Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp to reach customers have been cut off for more than six weeks. For many, rebuilding on domestic platforms feels like starting from scratch.
The challenge is particularly severe for businesses whose websites are hosted abroad. With only domestic domains widely accessible, many companies have lost access not only to customers but also to backend systems and data.
The disruption has also hit home-based producers, many of them women, who rely heavily on social media to market their products. Many had already lost customers during the 12-day war in June and the unrest earlier this year.
Some entrepreneurs say the shutdown has wiped out their income.
Amir, a YouTube podcaster, wrote that his income from YouTube, Instagram and other platforms had dropped to zero.
“I am completely bankrupt,” he said. “I can’t pay my loan installments and have to sell my equipment.”
Another user who runs an embroidery workshop said the shutdown forced layoffs.
“Until forty-something days ago, I had 37 employees. Now I’ve only been able to keep five.”
Costly workarounds
In response to mounting pressure, authorities have introduced a limited system known as “professional internet”.
Under the program, business owners can apply for unfiltered internet access via their SIM cards by submitting documentation and paying a higher fee. The access, however, applies only to the individual subscriber and does not extend to customers.
Critics say the measure does little to help businesses whose clients remain offline.
“They still don’t understand that for these businesses to function, their customers also need internet access,” one user wrote.
Some rely on VPNs, satellite services such as Starlink, or roaming through foreign SIM cards. These workarounds often come at a high cost, forcing households to reprioritize spending.
“I cut down on everything else just to stay connected,” one user wrote on social media, describing internet access as essential not only for business but also for staying informed.
Enforcement against attempts to bypass restrictions has intensified. Text messages sent to users warn that unauthorized access to the international internet—through VPNs or proxy services—violates cybercrime laws and could lead to prosecution.
An underground market for VPN services has flourished on domestic platforms, often with high prices tied to data usage. Reports of fraud are also common, with users saying they paid for access that never worked.
Access has been selectively granted through a “whitelist” system covering certain media outlets, companies and universities, creating uneven levels of connectivity across sectors.
Authorities have also stepped up efforts to confiscate satellite equipment used to access services such as Starlink, further narrowing the few remaining pathways to the global internet.
Tehran’s unveiling of a towering statue depicting the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before pre-Islamic Persian King Shapur I has renewed criticism of the Islamic Republic’s appeal to nationalist sentiment following the June war with Israel.
For over forty years, the theocracy purged ancient Persian history from schoolbooks, replacing it with post-Islamic narratives. But after the 12-day conflict with Israel, officials have turned to the distant pre-Islamic past to rally a divided society.
From murals of ancient kings and soldiers to patriotic songs added to Shi’ite mourning ceremonies performed before Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran now embraces imagery once deemed heretical by its own revolutionary ethos.
'Kneel before Iran' campaign
Tehran’s Revolution (Enghelab) Square was the scene of an unusual spectacle on Friday as officials unveiled a massive bronze statue depicting Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling in submission before Sassanid King Shapur I, commemorating Iran’s victory at the Battle of Edessa (260 AD).
The event was held under the slogan “Kneel before Iran,” part of what authorities describe as a campaign to project “national unity and historical pride” following the June war with Israel.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, a staunch ultraconservative, said on X: “Enmity with Great Iran can only end in kneeling before this historic nation.”
Municipal official Davood Goodarzi said the installation would be accompanied by visual displays depicting “other victories of Iranians over foreign aggressors,” including the defeat of British forces by local commander Rais-Ali Delvari, Mirza Kuchak Khan’s resistance against Russian troops, and Surena’s triumph over Rome at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE.
The goal, Goodarzi said, is “strengthening concepts such as national dignity, social unity, and Iranian identity.”
The statue, he said, would remain temporarily at Revolution Square before being moved to a city gateway “where it will stand as the first emblem of Iran before diplomats and foreign visitors.”
Unveiled women were allowed to attend the unveiling ceremony—an uncommon scene at events organized by Tehran’s ultra-hardline municipality.
The turn to the pre-Islamic past
The sharp reversal also recalls remarks once made by Khamenei. In a 2011 speech, he asserted that “all the great military victories of this nation came after Islam,” dismissing pre-Islamic accounts as “things that are not documented.”
In 1987, he had said that prophets triumphed over kings such as Cyrus and that “nothing remains of these monarchs in history but names remembered with derision.”
Nevertheless, pro-government social media accounts have now gone so far as to circulate posters equating Khamenei himself with Shapur, showing him standing with a staff as Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump kneel before him. The caption reads: “You will kneel before Iran.”
'Hypocrisy'
Pro-government figures have hailed the move as a patriotic success. Conservative political reporter Hossein Saremi posted: “Today’s grand Iranian gathering showed that people and the state share one essence: Iran itself. Nothing can take our homeland away.”
Others, however, called the spectacle “hypocrisy.” Journalist Gholamhossein Pashaei wrote on X: “Every year you close Pasargadae to stop people from celebrating Cyrus Day, yet you unveil Shapur’s statue in Enghelab Square with drums and fireworks during Fatimiyya (mourning period)!”
Dissident commentator Hamid Asafi called the ceremony “a perfect snapshot of the Islamic Republic’s contradictions.”
On Telegram he wrote: “A week ago they closed Cyrus’s tomb out of fear of the crowds, and now they glorify Shapur in the same breath. The Islamic Republic fears living history but poses for selfies with its corpse.”
He added: “They know people no longer respond to rosaries and sermons. That’s why they’ve brought history back to the stage—in a controlled costume. If they can’t erase the past, they’ll try to own it.”
The irony deepened as UNESCO formally recognized Cyrus’s Charter as one of the earliest human-rights documents.
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X: “Iran, the cradle of dialogue, justice, and coexistence, can still inspire peace today.”
Users swiftly replied, questioning how such pride could coexist with a government that blocks access to Cyrus’s tomb each year to those wishing to visit it on his birthday.