Iran’s internet blockade has now reached 72 days, extending a sweeping digital shutdown first imposed hours after the February 28 attacks by the U.S.-Israel coalition against the Iranian regime. According to internet observatory Netblocks, national connectivity has fallen to just 1%, with no broader restoration of international internet access for the general public in sight.
The prolonged restrictions have turned what was initially framed as a security measure into a wider political, economic, and social issue. While ordinary Iranians remain cut off from much of the global internet, a controversial alternative has emerged: a two-tier access model known as “Internet Pro”, which reportedly gives pre-approved users a far less restricted online experience.
A Two-Tier Internet Takes Shape
The most controversial aspect of the current situation is the unequal access structure now being put into practice. Under the “Internet Pro” system, a select group of users can navigate international websites with fewer barriers, while the broader population is effectively confined to a heavily reduced and filtered version of the internet.
This arrangement has drawn criticism because it formalizes digital inequality at a time when the wider public is already facing deep communication constraints. Rather than restoring broad internet access, the system appears to create a privileged channel for certain approved users, while everyone else remains dependent on limited domestic connectivity or risky workarounds.
Reports indicate that Internet Pro is also priced far beyond the reach of most Iranians. As a result, many people have continued turning to virtual private networks, or VPNs, despite the practical and legal risks involved. The report also notes the presence of Starlink as another possible option, though that route appears to carry serious danger as well.
Political Divisions Inside Iran
The introduction and apparent backing of Internet Pro has not produced consensus inside Iran’s own power structure. Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi has openly opposed the model, saying that a tiered internet or “whitelist” system has “no validity” and arguing that Internet Pro has been misused.
His criticism highlights the internal divisions now surfacing over how the country should manage digital access during an extended period of restrictions. On the other side, hardline figures have reportedly supported the policy. Among them is Mohammad Amin Aghamiri, who heads the country’s governing cyberspace authority and is described as backing the two-tier approach.
That split matters because it suggests the current internet regime is not just a technical response to security concerns, but a contested policy choice with longer-term implications. The debate is no longer simply about whether access should be restricted, but also about who gets access, under what conditions, and at what cost.
Economic Costs Continue to Mount
Beyond the civil liberties debate, the economic consequences of the blockade are becoming harder to ignore. Iranian economist Mahdi Ghodsi estimates that the cost of the internet disruption stands at around $250 million, and may approach $3 billion per day when broader impacts on banks and companies are included.
Those figures point to a severe drag on commercial activity in a country where digital infrastructure is critical not only for communication, but also for financial services, enterprise operations, and cross-border business. When banking systems and companies are disrupted at the same time, the damage extends far beyond online inconvenience and moves into the core of the domestic economy.
The labor market is also under pressure. The blockade is estimated to threaten 2 million jobs, with the potential impact spreading across nearly 8 million families. If those estimates hold, the internet restrictions are no longer just a matter of information control; they represent a major socioeconomic shock touching employment, household income, and internal market stability.
Risky Alternatives Fill the Gap
Because the majority of the population remains locked out of open global access, alternative connection methods have taken on new significance. VPNs continue to serve as one of the main tools for bypassing censorship and restrictions, but the report stresses that such options are increasingly risky. Users are effectively pushed into a gray zone where access depends on technical improvisation and personal exposure.
Starlink has also emerged in discussions as another route to less restricted connectivity. But the report references a deeply troubling claim: that one citizen’s death was tied to an arrest related to Starlink use. While few details are provided in the source material, the allegation underscores how high the stakes have become for those attempting to reconnect with the outside world.
In practice, this means the digital blackout is not affecting everyone equally. A small approved segment may obtain cleaner access through Internet Pro, while ordinary users face a combination of exclusion, extra cost, and physical risk. That contrast is a major reason why the new system has become so controversial.
From Emergency Measure to Structural Divide
Netblocks described the current internet blockade as unprecedented, emphasizing that there is still no indication of wider restoration as authorities continue to bar the general public from international access. That assessment suggests the situation is moving beyond a short-term emergency response and toward something more structural.
The longer the restrictions remain in place, the more the consequences spill over into everyday life: business disruption, restricted access to information, digital inequality, and political friction within the state itself. Internet Pro may offer a limited pathway for selected users, but it does little to resolve the larger crisis facing the rest of the country.
What is taking shape in Iran is not merely a reduced internet, but a stratified one. In that system, access becomes a controlled privilege rather than a shared infrastructure. For critics, that is the central issue: the policy does not simply censor the web, it reorganizes society’s relationship to it.
With connectivity still near 1%, public access still heavily restricted, and economic losses continuing to rise, Iran’s internet blockade appears to be entering a more entrenched and consequential phase. The debate over Internet Pro is therefore about more than technology. It is about power, inequality, and who gets to remain connected when the broader public does not.