The Iranian government is reportedly planning to permanently sever its citizens from the global internet — confining them instead to a state-run system as part of a continued crackdown on dissent following the Islamic regime’s slaughtering of thousands of protesters.
Filterwatch, a digital rights monitoring project which has tracked Iranian internet censorship since 2012, says info it obtained indicates Tehran is moving toward “absolute digital isolation.”
The Islamic Republic is abandoning its old model of “mass internet censorship” in favor of a “permanent shift” toward a “sealed intranet” while “access to the outside world is granted only to those with security clearance,” Filterwatch said.
“This information blockade reflects the extreme securitization of the ‘Communication Blackhole’ project, making access to real news harder for domestic users than for external observers,” according to the censorship watchdog.
The move to crack down on internet access follows nationwide protests that erupted late last month as Iranians took to the streets over a spiraling economic crisis and soon began calling for regime change.
Demonstrations spread across all 31 provinces as security forces moved in with force to brutally crush the unrest.
At least 3,090 protesters have reportedly been killed as of Saturday, according to the US-based Human Right Activists News Agency, while other monitors say the true toll is likely far higher as authorities restrict information and intimidate families into silence.
To contain the uprising and block images, videos and coordination from spreading, the government imposed a near-total internet shutdown on Jan. 8, one of the longest and most severe blackouts in Tehran’s history — a move activists say now appears to be the trial run for a permanent digital lockdown.
President Trump had the US military poised for possible strikeson Iran earlier this month as the repressive clerical regime intensified its violent crackdown on protestors — with American forces shifting into high alert and an aircraft carrier ordered toward the region.
But the White House abruptly stood down from the brink on Friday after Tehran reportedly signaled it was postponing planned mass executions.
Trump said that played a decisive role in his decision to halt military action.
However, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded by slamming Trump Saturday, calling him a “criminal” and murderer, and blaming the president for the deadly nationwide protests.
While the US strike plans were shelved, Trump administration officials stressed that all options remain on the table as the Islamic Republic maintains a hardline posture toward protesters.
The Post has sought comment from the White House and the Iranian government.
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