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Iran: President's Son Urges End to Internet Blackout

Are internet shutdowns desperate digital defense or permanent imprisonment disguised as security?
Iran: President's Son Urges End to Internet Blackout
Above: A graph showing the state of the internet network in Iran in Creteil, France, on Jan. 16. Image credit: Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-Iran narrative

Iran’s internet shutdown was not capricious repression but a wartime act of digital self-defense. Amid missile strikes, cyberattacks, and sanctions-hollowed infrastructure, sealing the network became a shield against intrusion and collapse. In a weaponized internet, survival — not ideology — drove the blackout.

Anti-Iran narrative

The blackout isn't temporary defense but permanent digital imprisonment disguised as security. Authorities are exploiting the crisis to build a sealed intranet where connectivity becomes a government-granted privilege requiring security clearance. This represents absolute digital isolation, transforming 92 million citizens into hostages cut off from the world indefinitely.

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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.18.0