Iran's Internet Cut to One Percent of Normal as War and Government Shutdowns Combine

Iran's internet connectivity has been reduced by 99 percent through a combination of deliberate government shutdowns and physical infrastructure damage from American and Israeli air strikes, cutting 90 million people off from the outside world at the moment they need information most. The near-total blackout -- far more severe than the shutdowns Iran imposed during previous protest movements -- means that the stories of ordinary Iranians living through the war are barely reaching the outside world, leaving the narrative to be shaped almost entirely by governments and military spokespeople. For a population that has long used the internet to organize dissent and communicate with the Iranian diaspora, the destruction of connectivity represents not just an information blackout but the severing of their most important lifeline to the free world.