Iran's Internet Blackout Becomes Longest Nationwide Shutdown on Record

Iran's internet shutdown became the longest nationwide blackout on record in any country according to NetBlocks.

“Home News Business Energy Opinion Lifestyle Sports Video Podcast Home News Business Energy Opinion Lifestyle Sports Video Podcast Close the sidebar Home News Middle East Farhad, an Iranian man, looks at his mobile phone, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 15, 2026”

Al Arabiya English

Connectivity to the global internet had been at around 1% of pre-war levels since shortly after the war started.

Al Jazeera

The blackout entered its 37th consecutive day, totaling 864 hours.

Iran's limited intranet remained operational for domestic services.

No war is known to have sent an entire country offline before.

Citizens described the outage as suffocating.

A 47-year-old woman in Isfahan said being without internet feels like being without oxygen.

BBC

Some Iranians resorted to VPNs despite government warnings of arrest.

Satellite-based services like Starlink were banned.

Iranians had spent close to two-thirds of the first quarter of 2026 in digital darkness.

The internet blackout inflicted heavy economic damage.

“The Iranian government has broken its own record for cutting off the Internet”

BBC

The government acknowledged many online businesses could not survive more than three weeks disconnected.

Iranians were reliant on state-controlled platforms and costly alternatives.

The blackout came amid escalating regional tensions.