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Iran has broken the record for the longest nationwide internet shutdown ever documented in any country, entering its 37th consecutive day of blackout according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks.
"Iran's internet blackout is now the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record in any country, exceeding all other comparable incidents in severity, having entered its 37th consecutive day after 864 hours," NetBlocks wrote on X.
The monitoring group noted that Iran's case is uniquely significant compared to other countries with limited or no internet access.
"Iran is the first country to have had internet connectivity and then subsequently lost it by reverting to a national network, while others such as North Korea have skipped the connected phase and been internationally isolated for longer," NetBlocks said.
This distinction places Iran in a unique category as a country that has transitioned from open access to total digital isolation through state action
Iran's government has previously been accused of cutting off internet access and phone lines when faced with demonstrations.
The current blackout began after the U.S. and Israel first struck Iran on Feb. 28, after which its regime almost completely blocked the country's access to the internet.
This followed another weeklong internet blackout in January during nationwide anti-regime protests.
Regional tensions have escalated since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets. Iran has also, since then, restricted the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
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