Iran’s sweeping internet blockade has now entered its 72nd day, marking one of the most severe and prolonged connectivity crackdowns in the country’s recent history. According to internet monitoring group Netblocks, national connectivity has fallen to just 1% of normal levels since the restrictions were imposed hours after the February 28 attack by a U.S.-Israel coalition against the Iranian regime. The organization said there is still no visible sign of a broad restoration of international internet access for the general public.
What began as a security measure has evolved into a broader political, social, and economic issue. As ordinary users remain largely cut off from the global internet, a controversial parallel system has reportedly emerged inside the country. Known as “Internet Pro”, the model allows pre-approved users to access international websites with fewer restrictions, while the wider population is left with only a heavily limited subset of online services.
A Two-Tier Internet Model Takes Shape
The reported rise of Internet Pro has sharpened concerns over digital inequality in Iran. Rather than a uniform restoration of connectivity, the system appears to create a privileged class of users able to move across the international web with relative freedom, while most citizens remain excluded. The arrangement has been described as a two-tier internet structure, one that effectively separates approved users from the public at large.
The article notes that Internet Pro comes with exorbitant pricing, placing it out of reach for many Iranians. As a result, large numbers of users continue to rely on VPNs and other workarounds to bypass restrictions. But those alternatives carry their own risks, particularly in an environment where surveillance and enforcement remain active. In practice, that means many people face a difficult choice between restricted access, expensive premium connectivity, or technically and legally risky circumvention tools.
Starlink has also surfaced as an alternative in the background of the blackout. However, the report cites claims tied to a fatal case involving the arrest of a citizen allegedly connected to its use. While details remain limited in the source material, the mention underscores the dangers associated with seeking independent internet access under the current restrictions.
Divisions Inside the Iranian Government
The two-tier model is also exposing differences within Iran’s own political establishment. Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi has publicly opposed the Internet Pro concept, arguing that a tiered internet or “whitelist” model has “no validity”. He further stated that Internet Pro has been misused, signaling concern not only about the policy itself but also about how it is being implemented.
That criticism stands in contrast with the position of hardline officials who support the measure. Among them is Mohammad Amin Aghamiri, who oversees the country’s governing cyberspace authority. The split suggests that the debate is no longer only about internet access as a technical or security matter, but also about governance, control, and the political cost of granting digital privileges selectively.
This disagreement is significant because it hints at broader tensions over how Iran should manage digital infrastructure during periods of crisis. One side appears to view selective access as an acceptable instrument of control and continuity; the other sees it as an illegitimate and potentially damaging framework that deepens public frustration and undermines trust.
Economic Damage Mounts
Beyond censorship and access rights, the economic consequences of the blackout are becoming harder to ignore. Iranian economist Mahdi Ghodsi estimates that the immediate cost of internet disruption reaches about $250 million. When broader impacts on banks, companies, and commercial operations are included, the daily damage could approach $3 billion.
Those figures point to a severe strain on Iran’s domestic economy. In a modern economy, internet access is deeply tied to payments, communications, logistics, customer service, retail activity, and cross-border business functions. Prolonged disruption can therefore ripple far beyond the technology sector, affecting everything from financial transactions to small business operations.
Employment is another major concern. The blockade is estimated to threaten or eliminate as many as 2 million jobs, with the consequences potentially reaching nearly 8 million families. If sustained, that level of disruption could intensify social pressure and deepen economic instability, especially as digital access becomes increasingly tied to livelihoods and essential services.
Security Policy or Structural Digital Divide?
The current situation in Iran illustrates how emergency internet restrictions can evolve into something much larger than a temporary security response. The source material makes clear that the blackout has not simply reduced connectivity; it has also created the conditions for a more stratified model of online access. In that sense, Internet Pro is controversial not just because it exists, but because of what it represents: the institutionalization of unequal internet access.
For critics, the issue is not only that the public remains disconnected, but that some users are being granted privileged routes to the global internet while the majority are effectively confined to a limited domestic or filtered environment. That dynamic risks turning connectivity itself into a managed entitlement rather than a broadly available service.
As the blockade continues, the debate around Iran’s internet controls is likely to center on three overlapping questions: whether the restrictions can be justified as an ongoing security measure, whether the economic damage is becoming unsustainable, and whether a two-tier access model can survive public and political scrutiny. For now, the country remains in a state of near-total digital restriction, with ordinary users still waiting for wider restoration while controversy around Internet Pro continues to grow.