Iran’s expanding two-tier internet system is fuelling public anger and exposing new cracks in the government’s wartime control strategy, as ordinary citizens remain largely cut off from the global web while selected officials, businesses and regime-aligned figures receive privileged access.
The internet blackout, imposed after the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began on February 28, has now stretched beyond 70 days, making it one of the longest nationwide disruptions in Iran’s history. Internet monitoring groups say connectivity to the global internet has remained severely restricted, with many users forced to rely on a slow domestic intranet that allows access mainly to state-approved services.
Under pressure from businesses, the government has approved limited access for selected companies and professions. Iranian media and digital rights groups say the system includes so-called “white SIM cards” for officials, approved journalists and politically connected users, while a paid “Internet Pro” tier offers partial access with continued filtering and limits.
The policy has been widely criticised as discriminatory. Many Iranians say the government is turning internet access into a privilege for the loyal and well-connected, while students, freelancers, small businesses and ordinary families remain trapped behind restrictions. One citizen quoted by Iran International described the policy as a form of legalised “internet rent-seeking” after months of shutdown.
The economic damage is also mounting. Iran’s digital economy has been battered by the blackout, with online retailers, delivery platforms, startups and remote workers struggling to operate. The Guild Association of Internet-based Businesses warned that the country’s startup ecosystem was effectively dead, reflecting deep frustration among entrepreneurs already hit by sanctions, inflation, war damage and currency collapse.
Authorities argue that restrictions are necessary for national security during wartime. But analysts say selective access shows the aim is not only security, but information control. Carnegie Endowment research described Iran’s wartime internet policy as a political tool, granting connectivity to users who can amplify the state’s message while silencing critics and isolating the wider population.
The system has also created visible resentment inside the establishment. Some government-linked officials and technology-sector figures have publicly distanced themselves from the tiered model, saying the Supreme National Security Council ordered the restrictions and that they are not responsible for implementing them.
For the Iranian leadership, the blackout has helped limit protest organisation and control wartime narratives. But the two-tier system is also deepening public distrust by making inequality visible in real time: some Iranians can speak, trade and connect, while millions are kept offline.
As inflation surges and diplomacy with Washington stalls, the internet divide has become more than a censorship issue. It is now a symbol of how war, sanctions and authoritarian control are widening the gap between Iran’s rulers and the society they claim to defend.
