Iran internet blackout enters day 84, NetBlocks says
Iran’s internet blackout has entered its 84th day, with international networks largely cut off for more than 1,992 hours, internet monitor NetBlocks said.
NetBlocks said each passing hour was widening social and economic divides, as contact with the outside world remained gated by “status, compliance and privilege.”
Rising inflation in Iran has pushed households to buy even basic food items in installments, reshaping consumer habits.
Official figures published this year showed point-to-point inflation climbing above 73%, sharply increasing the cost of household essentials compared with the previous year. Food prices rose particularly fast, with some staples more than doubling in price.
The shift has extended installment payments beyond traditionally expensive products such as refrigerators and washing machines to groceries and supermarket packages, according to local media reports.
Chain stores and smaller retailers now advertise food, hygiene products and household supplies with payment plans spread over several months.
File photo of shoppers browsing goods inside a supermarket in Iran.
“When even basic necessities are sold in installments, it clearly reflects the pressure inflation has placed on household finances,” Tehran-based Eghtesad News wrote in a report published on Thursday.
Second-hand market expands
The inflation surge has also accelerated demand for second-hand appliances, furniture and electronics as many households move away from buying new goods outright.
A Tehran mother identified only as Maryam told the outlet she bought a used refrigerator for roughly half the price of a new one after concluding the retail cost was no longer manageable.
“It is better to take some risk and buy second-hand than pay the heavy cost of a new product all at once,” she said.
Negin, a university student whose classes are now held online rather than in person, needed a laptop to continue her studies. Faced with soaring prices, she settled for a lightly used second-hand laptop. “This option allowed me to continue my studies without taking out a loan,” she said.
File photo of second-hand household appliances displayed for sale in Iran.
Vendors in electronics and appliance markets also reported higher demand for used goods, with some sellers describing increases of between 40% and 60% compared with previous years.
Food and housing costs squeeze budgets
Economists and local observers say the change reflects deeper structural pressure on household budgets as spending on food, housing, utilities and services consumes a growing share of monthly income.
Annual inflation has surpassed 53%, according to official data, while prices for dairy, meat, rice, cooking oil and eggs have climbed sharply.
The report said many consumers now view installment purchases and second-hand goods not as cheaper alternatives, but as the only practical way to maintain daily living standards under prolonged inflationary pressure.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday there had been “slight progress” on Iran but warned that any Iranian attempt to create a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz would be unacceptable.
Rubio, speaking ahead of a NATO meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, said “no nation should accept” such a system in the strategic waterway.
He also said NATO must work for all members and that allies need a clear understanding of expectations before a leaders’ summit in Ankara later this year.
“Like any alliance, it has to be good for everyone who’s involved,” Rubio said. “There has to be a clear understanding of what the expectations are.”
Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for Iran’s parliament National Security Committee, said US sanctions on Mohammadreza Raouf Sheibani, the Islamic Republic’s expelled ambassador to Lebanon, amounted to “sanctioning diplomacy.”
In a post on X, Rezaei said sanctioning a Foreign Ministry diplomat showed Washington was not serious about talks.
“This negotiation is also probably deception, and the Americans have no desire for diplomacy,” he wrote.
“Now that they have sanctioned an Iranian diplomat too, send missiles instead of diplomats to negotiate with the devil so it understands what it is dealing with,” Rezaei added.
German Foreign Minister Wadephul said Germany is preparing to take part in efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz under British leadership, but said he did not see it as a NATO mission.
He said talks with the United States indicated Washington would coordinate any burden-shifting with European allies.
Wadephul also welcomed President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy 5,000 additional US troops to Poland.
He said Germany was inviting the United States to stick with its original plan to deploy long-range missiles to Germany.
A vessel fired warning shots after being approached by a small craft carrying five people north of Yemen’s Socotra island, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said Friday.
UKMTO said it received a report of the incident 98 nautical miles north of Socotra.
The agency said the warning shots forced the small craft to change course.
Authorities are investigating the incident, UKMTO said.
