Tens of millions of Iranians have been cut off from the rest of the globe since US-Israeli strikes began on Feb. 28. It has been described as the world’s longest state-imposed internet blackout to date.
Under the new plan, approved by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, selected businesses and institutions would regain global internet access while much of the public remains restricted.
The rollout would begin with commercial card holders and later expand to sectors tied to production, industry and trade, according to officials, who present the measure as economic management.
Critics see something larger: the formalization of a two-tier digital system. Those fears have intensified after leaked material circulated in recent days suggested authorities were considering more permanent restrictions.
Iran International has not independently verified the documents.
‘War as excuse’
Neda Bolourchi, executive director of the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, said the announcement appears less like an emergency wartime measure than the rollout of a long-prepared policy.
“What we can understand is that this has been a multi-year project,” she told Iran International. “That the war has given it the excuse to roll it out.”
She added that she does not expect a quick return even to the limited internet environment that existed before the latest shutdowns.
But Amin Sabeti, the London-based founder of CERTFA, a cybersecurity lab focused on cyberattacks linked to Iran, questioned whether Tehran could maintain such a model for long.
“They are trying to implement it, but the big question mark for me is how long they can carry on,” he told Iran International. “I don’t think they can continue the next six months as it is.”
Sabeti argued that wartime conditions may allow governments to impose extraordinary restrictions, but Iran is not North Korea and cannot easily be transformed into one.”
‘The Gen Z problem’
The economic consequences are already mounting.
For millions of Iranians, Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp are not luxuries. They are storefronts, classrooms, advertising platforms and lifelines to clients abroad.
Bolourchi warned that while the model may be sustainable for the state, it could be punishing for ordinary households, many of whom make their living online.
Sabeti noted that this would carry political risks for the ruling elite.
“If you offer it to the Iranian people—internet, Instagram, XYZ—and suddenly you want to take it away, that’s the level of the anger. We will see huge protests,” Sabeti said.
Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute who focuses on Iranian society, Gen Z and social media, said the blackout cannot be separated from the Islamic Republic’s broader information war.
“The reason they are basically not allowing Iranians access to the outside world is because the internet and social media is the only way for their voices to be heard,” Dagres said.
She also stressed that the economic damage has been particularly severe for entrepreneurs, women-led businesses and rural sellers who depend on social media income streams.
Tightening control
The system may also deepen surveillance.
Even if Iran does not become a replica of North Korea, a permission-based internet would still mean more monitoring and greater pressure on citizens to censor themselves.
Dagres argued that the government may be trying to normalize the blackout through small concessions while preserving overall control.
Direct-to-cell technology, which could one day allow ordinary smartphones to connect directly to satellites without dishes or ground terminals, is still not meaningfully available in Iran and remains more promise than practical solution.
For Tehran, “Internet Pro” may solve one immediate problem: how to keep strategic sectors online while limiting the wider public. In doing so, it may create another.
Iran is a country where tens of millions have built livelihoods, relationships and daily routines online. Restricting that access while rewarding approved groups may tighten control today, but deepen resentment tomorrow.
