Iran’s internet blackout has now lasted more than 60 hours, monitoring group Netblocks reported, as a wave of anti-government protests spread across the country.
The company said the outage was a “direct threat” to public safety.
Unrest due to severe economic hardship has been ringing for two weeks and has spread to more than 180 cities across Iran, according to US-based human rights group HRANA.
“The internet outage in Iran has now exceeded 60 hours, with connectivity levels across the country remaining flat at around 1% of normal levels,” NetBlocks said in an XPost statement on Sunday morning local time.
“This censorship measure poses a direct threat to the safety and well-being of Iranians at a critical time for the country’s future.”
A UK-based monitor reported the first signs of internet connectivity failures in Iran in a post on X on the night of January 8th.
According to HRANA, at least 78 protesters have been killed and more than 2,600 arrested in connection with the ongoing demonstrations.
One Tehran resident said the power outage was prompting more people to take to the streets to protest, while prominent Iranian filmmakers denounced the power outage as a “tool of repression.”
