Iran is moving towards a permanent disconnection from the global internet, according to a new report from digital rights activists. The plan would restrict unrestricted online access to a select group of individuals approved by the regime, turning it into a "governmental privilege".
A Permanent Shift in Online Access
A confidential strategy is reportedly underway to fundamentally alter how Iranians connect to the world wide web. The organisation Filterwatch, which monitors Iran's internet censorship, cites multiple sources within the country indicating this is a permanent change. Government spokespersons and state media have allegedly signalled that unrestricted access will not return after 2026.
Amir Rashidi, who leads Filterwatch, explained the proposed system. Under the plan, a filtered version of the global internet would be accessible only to Iranians who obtain security clearance or pass government checks. The vast majority of the population would be confined to Iran's "national internet" – a domestic, parallel network that is completely cut off from the international online world.
Protests and an Unprecedented Blackout
This revelation comes amid one of the most severe internet shutdowns in the nation's history. The latest blackout began on 8 January following twelve days of escalating anti-regime protests. While demonstrations have slowed due to a brutal state crackdown, thousands of people are reported to have been killed.
The shutdown has severely limited the flow of information out of Iran. It has already lasted longer than Egypt's famous internet blackout during the Tahrir Square protests in 2011. A government spokesperson has told Iranian media that the international internet will remain shut off until at least Nowruz, the Persian new year on 20 March.
Rashidi suggested authorities are content with the current level of connectivity, believing the shutdown helped them control the protest situation.
A 16-Year Journey to Digital Control
Iran's current actions represent the culmination of a sixteen-year effort to cement state control over the digital sphere. This strategy has two key pillars: sophisticated filtering and the creation of a national intranet.
The filtering relies on a practice known as "whitelisting," which allows a chosen few to access the global internet while blocking everyone else. Researchers from Project Ainita and the Outline Foundation, who requested anonymity due to fears of Iranian reprisals, believe this capability was probably enabled by technology exported from China. It uses high-capacity "middleboxes" – devices attached to network cables that can monitor and manipulate all internet traffic, spying on users and blocking websites and VPN tools.
The second pillar is Iran's national internet, accessible only inside the country. This parallel network hosts regime-built alternatives to popular services, including messaging apps, search engines, and a Netflix-like streaming service. It is heavily monitored and has virtually no links to the broader internet.
The drive for a national internet began in earnest in 2009, after authorities realised the extreme economic and social costs of a total internet blackout during protests following Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election. By 2012, the Supreme Council of Cyberspace was established to plan a splintered domestic network.
Over the following decade, Iranian authorities used a "carrot and stick" approach to force businesses, banks, and internet providers to move key infrastructure inside Iran. In 2015, researchers made a startling discovery: Iran was successfully building a fully partitioned domestic internet, using the same protocols that connect internal office networks.
This national internet has remained operational throughout the recent protests and is now the only online option for most Iranians.
Plausible, Terrifying, and Costly
A former US State Department official specialising in internet censorship described the prospect of a permanent Iranian break from the global internet as "plausible and terrifying," but also warned of significant costs.
"The economic impact and the cultural impact will be really massive. And they may overplay their hand," the official stated. While acknowledging Iran has revealed considerable technical power in controlling the internet, surpassing some other authoritarian regimes, the official cautioned that creating a new, permanent online reality would bring severe consequences for which Iranian authorities would bear responsibility.
The digital rights community continues to raise the alarm, warning that the window for unrestricted access in Iran may be closing permanently by 2026.
