People have been unable to reach families in Iran due to the nationwide internet blackout [Getty]
The internet blackout that Iran has been experiencing since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic has become the longest nationwide shutdown ever recorded in any country, according to NetBlocks.
In a post on X, the internet monitoring group said Iran had surpassed all comparable incidents after entering its 37th consecutive day with significantly reduced connectivity – equivalent to more than 864 hours of disruption.
NetBlocks noted that while conflicts have previously impacted internet access in other regions, none have matched the duration or scale seen in Iran.
It pointed to cases such as Sudan, where connectivity was restored after several weeks despite wartime conditions, and Gaza, where infrastructure damage has caused extended outages.
However, it said no other instance had resulted in such a prolonged, near-total reduction in nationwide access.
The ongoing disruption has forced many Iranians to seek alternative ways to connect online.
Among the most prominent is Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, which uses low-Earth orbit satellites to bypass terrestrial restrictions.
According to a December 2024 report by Forbes, more than 20,000 Starlink subscriptions were already in use in Iran prior to the current escalation, suggesting that reliance on such systems may have grown as the blackout persisted.
However, accessing these alternatives carries significant risks.
Iranian rights groups have warned that individuals found using unauthorised satellite internet devices could face severe penalties, including arrest and, in extreme cases, the death penalty.
Authorities have thus intensified efforts to crack down on such usage.
On 17 March, Iranian officials announced that hundreds of banned Starlink devices had been located and confiscated in what they described as a “complex and extensive” operation involving advanced tracking tools capable of detecting satellite-linked systems.
Tehran has also escalated its rhetoric against the technology itself.
The country’s Fars news agency recently published an infographic earlier this week highlighting Starlink’s regional presence in Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, describing related infrastructure as a “legitimate” target and raising the prospect of additional infrastructure targeted in the already hard-hit Gulf.
