# Iran Internet Blackout Context — Jan-Feb 2026

> Critical context: Iran has been operating under a government-imposed internet blackout since January 8, 2026

## Timeline

| Date | Event |
|------|-------|
| Dec 28, 2025 | Protests erupt after rial crashes to 1.42M per USD |
| Dec 30, 2025 | Initial internet disruptions reported |
| **Jan 8, 2026 8:00 PM IRST** | **Full internet blackout imposed** |
| Jan 10 | Cloudflare Radar shows traffic at fraction of 1% of normal |
| Jan 15 | Gov spokesperson: international sites blocked until at least Nowruz (~March 20) |
| Jan 17 | Phased restoration begins — whitelisted NIN services only |
| Jan 18 | ArvanCloud edge starts returning some domestic content |
| Jan 24-27 | IODA detects initial signs of global reconnection |
| Feb 6 | US-Iran nuclear talks in Oman (internet still restricted) |
| Feb 12 | Reports: Iran weighs permanent tighter internet controls |
| Feb 24 | FP reports on "two-tiered internet" system |
| **Feb 28** | **Israeli strikes on Tehran — current situation** |

## The "Two-Tiered Internet" (Internet-e-Tabaqati)

Formalized by Supreme Council of Cyberspace in July 2025. Converts internet access from a right into **a privilege based on loyalty**.

### Tier 1: White SIM Cards (Privileged Access)
- Issued to: government officials, security forces, approved journalists
- **Bypass ALL state filtering**
- Full access to Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp
- Unrestricted global internet

### Tier 2: General Population
- Access only to **whitelisted** National Information Network (NIN) domestic services
- VPNs heavily disrupted
- No social media, no international platforms
- Banking and administrative services partially restored

## Technical Methods Used

1. **BGP Route Withdrawal** — IPv6 prefixes removed from global routing
2. **International Bandwidth Throttling** — 35% reduction
3. **Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)** — Protocol-level filtering
4. **DNS Poisoning** — Blocking foreign domain resolution
5. **Protocol Whitelisting** — Only approved protocols/services allowed
6. **Starlink Jamming** — Ku-band (12-18 GHz) jamming, 50-70% packet loss
7. **Mobile Jamming Units** — Deployed in protest areas

## Economic Cost

- **$35.7 million per day** (acknowledged by ICT Minister Sattar Hashemi)
- 18-day total blackout = **~$642 million in losses**
- Estimated 90 trillion Tomans total

## Impact on Our OSINT Findings

The January blackout explains WHY so many sites were already degraded before the Feb 28 strikes:
- ArvanCloud catch-all pages = CDN edge serving stale content because origin servers are behind the domestic blackout
- Sites that were 000 pre-strikes may have been offline since January
- The Feb 28 Israeli strikes represent an **additional layer of disruption** on top of an already crippled internet

### What's NEW from the strikes vs. what was already down:
- Military DNS records being DELETED (irgc.ir, artesh.ir) — this may be a direct response to the Feb 28 strikes
- farsnews.ir being accessible only through Tor — this was the pre-existing pattern from the Jan blackout
- ArvanCloud CDN still serving edge content — this has been the case since Jan 18 restoration

## Sources

- [2026 Internet blackout in Iran — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Internet_blackout_in_Iran)
- [IODA Comparative Shutdown Report](https://ioda.inetintel.cc.gatech.edu/reports/a-comparative-look-at-internet-shutdowns-in-iran-2019-2022-2026-and-2026/)
- [Iran's Internet Blackout: Engineering Silence — Now Lebanon](https://nowlebanon.com/irans-internet-blackout-engineering-silence/)
- [Two-Tiered Internet — Foreign Policy](https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/24/tehran-internet-tiered-connectivity-shutdown/)
- [Schneier on Security — Two-Tiered Internet Analysis](https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2026/02/why-tehrans-two-tiered-internet-is-so-dangerous.html)
- [Al Jazeera — Nationwide Internet Blackout](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/8/iran-experiencing-nationwide-internet-blackout-monitor-says)
- [Chatham House — Digital Isolation](https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/01/irans-internet-shutdown-signals-new-stage-digital-isolation)
- [FilterWatch — January Network Monitoring](https://filter.watch/english/2026/01/28/network-monitoring-january-2026-from-regional-disuptions-to-total-blackout-and-whitelisted-access/)
- [Semafor — Tighter Controls](https://www.semafor.com/article/02/12/2026/iran-weighs-tighter-internet-controls-following-shutdown)
- [Cloudflare Radar — Iran](https://radar.cloudflare.com/traffic/ir)
- [Cloudflare TV — Iran Shutdown Insights](https://cloudflare.tv/this-week-in-net/internet-disruptions-iran-s-shutdown-cloudflare-radar-insights-storm-in-portugal-included/0ZbAW2aM)

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*Compiled: Feb 28, 2026*