NetBlocks, the international internet monitoring organization, reported that after more than 1,800 hours of internet shutdown in Iran, the Islamic Republic has established a “tiered system” for access.
According to the report, the tiered system created by the regime grants access to a small number of “selected individuals” while the voices of the general public remain cut off. NetBlocks emphasized that this is “exactly the kind of social structure that Iranian authorities claim to oppose.”
Simultaneously, Mehdi Tabatabaei, the Deputy for Communications and Information at Masoud Pezeshkian’s office, claimed that if a referendum were held, the people would prioritize security over ease of internet access under wartime conditions.
In response to criticism regarding internet restrictions and the so-called “Internet Pro” (tiered access), Tabatabaei stated that decisions concerning the internet are made through a consensus among specialized and security agencies within the Supreme National Security Council, based on security considerations and wartime conditions.
He added, “In a wartime situation, the full openness of the international internet is essentially inconceivable.”
