TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Inside her Tehran studio, fashion designer Amen Khademi set up a photo session for a jacket featuring Persian-inspired designs. While touching up her model’s makeup, her mind wandered to a pressing concern: whether her business could survive four months without its primary customer connection — internet access.
For the majority of 2026, Iran’s 90 million citizens have been disconnected from the web in what ranks among the globe’s most extensive and severe national blackouts. The shutdown is decimating a digital marketplace that had previously withstood government controls and international penalties. Businesses spanning fashion, fitness, marketing, and retail have watched their revenue disappear.
Khademi’s sales have completely stopped. “The internet outage in the past four months has completely destroyed not only my business, but many online businesses,” she said.
Even with a fragile ceasefire involving the United States and Israel, Iranian leadership refuses to end the blackout they’ve characterized as essential during wartime. However, they’re confronting growing criticism as the shutdown compounds widespread unemployment from industrial strikes and continued U.S. economic barriers.
Prior to January, Iranian citizens had web access despite authorities blocking substantial content. Currently, all connections to the worldwide internet have been severed. While some bypass methods exist, their costs have skyrocketed beyond most Iranians’ financial reach.
The digital blackout drains approximately $30-40 million from the economy each day, with secondary losses potentially doubling that figure, according to Iran’s Chamber of Commerce member Afshin Kolahi, who spoke to local media. Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi estimates roughly 10 million workers depend on internet connectivity for their livelihoods.
During years of financial instability caused by sanctions and poor governance, social platforms including Instagram and WhatsApp enabled small enterprises to locate clients while helping citizens generate supplemental income amid soaring costs for essential items.
Iranian officials initially blocked internet access in January amid widespread anti-government demonstrations. As that restriction began lifting, authorities implemented total internet elimination on February 28 when the U.S. and Israel initiated military action.
Internet censorship specialist Mahsa Alimardani noted that Kashmir and Myanmar have experienced longer regional or platform-specific restrictions. Nations such as China, through its “Great Firewall,” and North Korea have consistently maintained tight global internet controls.
“What makes Iran’s shutdown unprecedented is the combination of scale and severity: an entire country of 90 million people with a developed digital economy deliberately reverted to a controlled national intranet,” said Alimardani, an associate director for technology threats and opportunities at the rights group Witness.
DigiKala, a prominent Iranian online retailer, recently announced workforce reductions affecting 200 employees, representing roughly 3% of its staff. The damage spreads to “production, foreign trade and even traditional business,” stated Reza Olfatnasab, who leads a national organization representing digital enterprises, in remarks published by Iranian outlets.
Instagram serves as Khademi’s storefront. Her studio’s account, which attracted over 30,000 followers, now sits dormant. She conducted the photo session to preserve images for future use while searching for alternatives.
Her model, Farnaz Ojaghloo, also works as a fitness instructor. The blackout has eliminated both her modeling opportunities and the online training programs she offered to domestic and international clients.
“Psychologically, it really hits hard,” Ojaghloo said. “All the plans you had for six months or a year ahead get pushed aside, and your only concern becomes surviving in the moment.”
For years, Iranian authorities maintained content filters and monitored platforms including YouTube and Instagram. Before the conflict, citizens could circumvent limitations using affordable virtual private networks (VPNs) and other accessible methods.
The current shutdown has driven up costs for underground VPN services. Iranian government media frequently report detentions of individuals using prohibited VPNs or the American Starlink satellite network, which was outlawed last year.
High-ranking government officials receive “white” SIM cards providing global internet access. Responding to pressure over economic damage, authorities now permit limited internet access to select professions, businesses, and media organizations.
A Tehran e-commerce association criticized this hierarchical approach in Iranian media Wednesday, describing it as “an abuse of an obvious need of every citizen.” The group warned the outage threatens “the destruction of the country’s infrastructure at the hands of our own decision-makers.”
Most citizens must rely solely on Iran’s domestic network.
A Tehran advertising professional explained that clients show little interest in paying for content that cannot appear on major platforms like Instagram, where he maintains tens of thousands of followers. His earnings have dropped to nearly nothing since the war commenced.
An Isfahan-based gamer with substantial YouTube and Instagram followings described Iran’s domestic network as “terrible” — sluggish, vulnerable, and error-prone. He has also lost virtually all sponsor and donation income.
Iran operates its own social media platforms designed to mirror services like WhatsApp and YouTube, though content faces strict monitoring and frequent censorship.
“Nobody really wants to use these platforms, but there is no other option,” the gamer explained. Both he and the advertising professional requested anonymity due to safety concerns.
The shutdown has intensified hardships for Iran’s previously substantial and well-educated middle class, already struggling following a prewar currency collapse.
Iran’s economic deterioration has triggered repeated anti-government protests, most recently in December. Now, increasing numbers of Iranians consider emigration, according to a software developer.
The developer — also speaking anonymously for security reasons — explained that the internet shutdown has eliminated remote employment opportunities. He lost his position when his previous employer terminated nearly all staff in recent weeks.
The impact appears in Tehran’s growing street vendor population. Reza Amiri, a 32-year-old former internet provider employee, now sells hats and umbrellas near a subway station. He became unemployed after the war began and hasn’t received his final paycheck.
Monireh Pishgahi sells decorative items and accessories on the capital’s renowned Vali Asr Street. Her tailoring operation previously supplied three online retailers. As business declined, she closed the shop and dismissed her five workers.
Downtown merchant Mohammad Rihai said he stopped trying to convince street vendors to clear the sidewalk in front of his establishment. “After the war, you see them all along the sidewalk. I cannot fight them anymore.”
