Iranians have long fought disinformation by using the internet. Access is now at 1%

Screenshot 2026-03-09 at 5.12.33 PM

[A]s the US and Israel’s war on Iran intensifies, the conflict is adding a new dimension to what would otherwise be a damaging but not unprecedented internet blackout.

In these situations, and by the regime’s design, the populace still has access to the country’s homegrown intranet and suite of applications, known as the National Information Network or NIN, so daily life can continue.

…

Iranians were plunged into internet darkness almost immediately after US and Israeli missiles hit the country on February 28, killing the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Since then, says Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at monitoring firm Kentik, there has been “minimal traffic” leaving the country, with all networks seeing around 99 percent drops in traffic.

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After spending most of 2026 mostly offline already, Iranians are now living under full-scale kinetic attack. It is currently unclear how Iranian leadership and governance will evolve as a result of the conflict—leaving the future of the NIN and the country’s access to the external internet in an even more uncertain state than ever.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here




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