Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) continues to enforce stringent internet censorship within the country, with users reporting a drastically altered online environment following the gradual restoration of access over the past four weeks. This digital siege is part of the Islamist regime's broader effort to suppress dissent and maintain ideological control, as evidenced by the violent crackdown on protesters that followed a January 8 internet blackout.
The current online environment, despite restored connectivity, bears little resemblance to what existed before the January 8 internet blackout, according to users. Commonly available VPN services now fail to provide reliable access to platforms like Instagram, which has remained restricted since the "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising in its fourth year.
A report by CITNA indicated that 68% of active Instagram users have not returned to the platform since internet access was restored. More than 75 million internet users in Iran are still contending with heavily restricted online access, highlighting the regime's pervasive control over information flow.
A source familiar with Iran’s communications sector informed The Media Line that the government reopened the internet under conditions imposed by the Supreme National Security Council on the Supreme Council of Cyberspace. A primary condition was to alter the quality of access to, and control over, the global internet, making it far more manageable and controllable for the regime.
The Islamist Regime's Digital Iron Curtain
VPNs, crucial tools for bypassing censorship, are now heavily monitored and tracked, making it considerably more difficult for citizens to circumvent the regime's digital barriers. Surveillance and monitoring efforts aimed at updating blocklists have intensified on an hour-by-hour basis, demonstrating the regime's real-time adaptation to counter any attempts at digital freedom.
Virtually all solutions and workarounds proposed by internet platforms and activists are continuously monitored in real time, severely limiting the lifespan of such efforts to bypass the state's control. The only viable solution, according to the source, would be the widespread availability of Starlink to millions of people, enabling house-to-house networks and broader access that would complicate government monitoring.
Estimates suggest that only around half a million people across the country, primarily in northern Tehran, currently have access to Starlink. However, security agencies have established various traps to target Starlink applicants, increasing distrust of providers and deterring wider adoption.
Carelessness by users when accessing domestic websites can expose them to identification and tracking by the regime's security apparatus. In recent weeks, raids by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the police, and the Ministry of Intelligence on private homes to confiscate Starlink equipment have intensified.
These raids have, in some cases, resulted in violent confrontations, leading to injury or even death, underscoring the brutal methods employed by the Islamist regime to enforce its digital and physical control. Newly surfaced videos from the January massacre circulating on social media are described as deeply disturbing, documenting the civilian toll of the conflict.
Violent Suppression of Dissent
The return of connectivity, following an 88-day shutdown described by outside monitors as one of the longest nationwide blackouts ever recorded, allowed more images and testimony to emerge online, documenting the January crackdown. However, the Islamic Republic’s numerous security agencies also exploited the internet's reopening to hunt down opponents and individuals communicating with journalists abroad or sending information to outside media.
Niko, a young protester in Tehran, stated that the Islamic regime has imposed extensive controls, making online content and social media significantly less accessible than before the blackout. Niko reported that while the Islamic Republic claims restored access, speeds have been reduced to the point where previously functional VPNs are practically unusable.
Niko also warned that using government-approved applications while a VPN is active could lead to immediate identification and access cutoff, rendering paid VPN services useless. In a recent message, Niko expressed fear that if the internet is cut again, the situation will worsen, with the Islamic Republic potentially moving to confiscate mobile phones.
Communication with human rights and civil society activists inside Iran remains severely restricted, with many subjected to threats and intimidation designed to force them into silence. The internet is not officially shut down, but sources indicate that repression and suffocation have become even more severe than before the January crackdown.
Tara Dachek, a human rights activist based in Canada, asserted that the internet situation in Iran is no longer merely about censorship, but an expanded scope of filtering that prevents previously possible communications. Dachek noted that many cannot access Starlink due to rising costs, while bringing the equipment into the country has become more difficult and carries harsher penalties.
Dachek detailed Iran’s tiered internet system, which divides users into categories with sharply different levels of access, revealing the regime's strategic control over information. One group, often affiliated with intelligence institutions, enjoys unrestricted access to the entire internet, using it to monitor activists, create counterintelligence networks, and infiltrate opposition circles.
The second tier consists of regime agents and officials with access to most internet content, excluding certain blacklisted sites, primarily for propaganda activities and routine government operations. A third group, insiders benefiting from a "white internet," faces greater restrictions but can still access platforms like X.
Ordinary citizens, forming the vast majority of users, are at the lowest level, with access to almost no content beyond approved material and Islamic Republic applications, where surveillance and monitoring are easily conducted. Dachek emphasized that this classification system is central to determining which voices are heard and which are silenced within the country.
Well-known figures, including rapper Toomaj Salehi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, and civil rights activists like Sepideh Qolian, have faced extensive threats. Some users who posted content on Instagram critical of the war have recently received judicial summonses to appear before Revolutionary Prosecutors’ Offices for questioning and prosecution.
Iran's Ongoing Hostilities
Beyond repression and political control, internet shutdowns in Iran have contributed to rising levels of depression and hopelessness among young people, as research presented at the Global Communication Association conference in Casablanca in the previous year indicated. While digital freedom is a central demand for many Iranians, these shutdowns also risk intensifying public anger and pushing political grievances into public protest.
President Masoud Pezeshkian warned on Sunday that if people reach the limits of their endurance, they will once again flood the streets, acknowledging the potential for widespread unrest against the Islamist regime. This internal suppression occurs even as the Islamic Republic and the United States have once again been involved in hostilities despite a ceasefire, highlighting the regime's persistent confrontational stance against Western nations while it simultaneously crushes its own population.