Iran shuts down internet access across the country as protests escalate over gas hikes
- Connectivity in Iran was only 5 per cent of normal levels on Tuesday in a ‘near-total national internet shutdown’, according to NetBlocks.org
- Iran is not the first country to use internet blackouts as a way to restrict communication among protesters
Tehran switched off the internet over the weekend, blocking Iranians from sharing information with the outside world, after a 50 per cent hike in gas prices took effect on Friday and ignited protests across the country, Associated Press reported.
Iran has entered “a near-total national internet shutdown” with only 5 per cent of its ordinary level of connectivity on Tuesday morning, according to NetBlocks.org, an organisation that monitors disruptions and shutdowns of internet globally.
The slowdown started on Friday and the country’s largest mobile data service operators – including MCI, Rightel and IranCell – had also fallen offline as of Saturday, NetBlocks said in a report.
The ongoing disruption is “the most severe disconnection tracked by NetBlocks in any country in terms of its technical complexity and breadth”, the organisation said.
Iran’s information and communications technology minister, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, reportedly told state-run Islamic Republic News Agency that officials hope the situation will normalise and allow the internet to be restored. However, the former Intelligence Ministry member also told IRNA that “maintaining national security is very important”, according to the AP.