What's happened
Iran’s government has extended its Internet Pro scheme as nationwide outages persist, aiming to preserve businesses during the crisis. Direct costs are rising, with regulators monitoring compliance as the country leans on an intranet for essential services and schools while the global web remains largely blocked.
What's behind the headline?
What this means for households and small businesses
- The ongoing outages are reshaping daily life and livelihoods as many Iranians rely on online channels for work, commerce, and education.
- Direct daily costs are running into tens of millions of dollars, with indirect losses likely higher, pressuring a fragile economy.
- The shift toward an intranet and temporary business-focused schemes suggests a longer-term reevaluation of the country’s digital landscape amid conflict.
Who benefits and who bears the cost
- The state emphasizes security and crisis management, while small businesses report near-term survival challenges.
- Job losses across sectors that previously depended on online connectivity are accelerating, especially among freelancers and retail/advertising sectors.
- Public frustration grows as access remains uneven and expensive workarounds are not accessible to many.
What to watch next
- Regulators are monitoring compliance under the Internet Pro framework; investigations are underway into violations by some operators.
- The regime’s ability to sustain a dual system (intranet plus restricted external web) will shape economic activity and public sentiment in the coming weeks.
- Any change in the security situation or international pressure could accelerate a return to broader connectivity or further restrict access.
How we got here
Since January, Iran has faced extended internet disruption. Officials cite security during conflict as justification while public and business sectors report severe economic damage and job losses due to the blackout. The government has introduced an intranet focus and new measures branded as Internet Pro to support businesses, with limited transparency on implementation timelines.
Our analysis
Reuters (Tue, 28 Apr 2026) reports that NetBlocks tracks 60 days of internet disruption with estimated daily direct costs of $30-40 million and up to $80 million in indirect losses; Fatemeh Mohajerani says the Supreme National Security Council has approved the Internet Pro scheme to preserve businesses. The Independent (Tue, 28 Apr 2026) and The New Arab (Tue, 28 Apr 2026) corroborate the scheme and describe a difficult balancing act for authorities; The NY Post and Associated Press pieces on Apr–May 2026 provide additional context on economic damage and the scale of outages. Across sources, figures are cited from Afshin Kolahi of the Iran Chamber of Commerce and local media; Reuters notes that figures could not be independently verified.
Go deeper
- How long is the Internet Pro scheme expected to operate, and what are the criteria for normalising full internet access?
- What support is available to small online businesses under the current regime, and are there any alternative revenue streams emerging?
- How might international sanctions and regional security dynamics influence Iran’s digital policy in the near term?
More on these topics
-
Iran - Country in the Middle East
Iran, also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and Azerbaijan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan a
-
NetBlocks
NetBlocks is a non-governmental organization that monitors cybersecurity and the governance of the Internet. The organization was founded in 2017 to monitor Internet freedom.
-
Reuters - News organization company
Reuters is an international news organization owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs some 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. The agency was established in London in 1851 by the German-born Paul Reuter.
-
Instagram - Social networking service
Instagram is an American photo and video sharing social networking service owned by Facebook, created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and originally launched on iOS in October 2010.
-
Digikala - E-commerce company
Digikala is an Iranian e-commerce company based in Tehran. it has 30 million visitors per month and receives 17.2 million visits per day. It is also ranked by Alexa as Iran's 3rd most visited website.