Following the escalation of anti-government protests that began in late December, Iranian authorities implemented what appears to be the most comprehensive and sophisticated communications blackout in the country’s history. Starting on January 8, 2026, access to the global Internet was severed. However, unlike previous shutdowns, this disruption extended far beyond international traffic.
Our latest technical report, utilizing data from IODA, Kentik, and Cloudflare, analyzes how the state dismantled not just the global web, but domestic networks and phone services as well. This short report details the technical progression of the shutdown, from early warning signs in IPv6 traffic to a state of highly curated isolation.
The data reveals that this blackout was not an impulsive pulling of the plug, but a calculated operation signaled hours in advance. On the morning of January 8, we observed a massive drop in announced IPv6 address space, essentially signaling the infrastructure changes to come. While IPv6 routes were withdrawn, the vast majority of IPv4 routes remained visible to the outside world.
This technical discrepancy is significant. In previous shutdowns, such as the "Bloody November" of 2019, authorities used "blunt force" route withdrawals that severed connections indiscriminately. The preservation of IPv4 routes in this instance suggests a strategic shift toward a more granular control system, likely designed to facilitate the "whitelisting" of specific government services while keeping the general population offline.
Perhaps most alarming is the unprecedented scope of the current blackout. Historical data from the 2019 protests and the 2022 "Women, Life, Freedom" movement shows that while the global internet was often blocked, the National Information Network (NIN) usually remained intact, allowing essential services like banking and local apps to function.
That digital safety net has now been removed. Our analysis confirms that during the initial phase of the shutdown, the state severed access to the NIN, privileged SIM cards, and even landline telephone networks. This creates a level of isolation that is technically distinct even from the wartime disruptions of 2025. By disabling domestic infrastructure alongside global connectivity, authorities have engineered a near-total information vacuum, preventing citizens from communicating not only with the outside world but with each other.
As of this writing, this blackout is still largely in place, with authorities restoring only some phone connections and whitelisting (selectively granting access to) government websites, approved news outlets, financial institutions, and specific domestic platforms for retail, health, and education.
Read the Full Technical Analysis:
To understand the specific network traffic trends, the timeline of escalation, and the data behind this unprecedented event, please read the full report here.