Iran’s Internet Blackout Hits Record Length, Monitor Says

“Iran's internet blackout is now the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record in any country, exceeding all other comparable incidents in severity having entered its 37th consecutive day after 864 hours,” NetBlocks said in a post on X on Sunday.

People hold smartphones in their hands while walking outside along a street in the Iranian capital Tehran on November 23, 2019.. (AFP)
People hold smartphones in their hands while walking outside along a street in the Iranian capital Tehran on November 23, 2019.. (AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Iran’s nationwide internet shutdown, imposed more than a month ago, has become the longest of its kind on record, according to internet monitor NetBlocks.

“Iran's internet blackout is now the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record in any country, exceeding all other comparable incidents in severity having entered its 37th consecutive day after 864 hours,” NetBlocks said in a post on X on Sunday.

The monitor noted that while some countries have experienced longer regional or intermittent shutdowns, no nation has previously faced a continuous, nationwide block of this duration. North Korea, by contrast, has never been connected to the global internet.

The blackout comes amid escalating tensions in the region, as Iran continues to face military pressure from the United States and Israel, and ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Analysts say the shutdown has hampered communications, business operations, and access to information within Iran.

NetBlocks tracks internet connectivity and has previously documented shutdowns in Iran during periods of political unrest, but the current outage exceeds all previous national restrictions in both scale and duration.

The Iranian government has yet to issue a statement regarding this recent report of the internet blackout in Iran by NetBlocks.