Iran’s prolonged internet blackout is reportedly costing the country as much as $80 million a day, as businesses, freelancers and ordinary citizens struggle to function under one of the longest nationwide shutdowns in recent history.
A senior Iranian technology industry figure told The New York Times that the blackout was bleeding roughly $80 million daily in losses. The figure is broadly in line with earlier estimates from Iranian business groups, including the Iran Chamber of Commerce, which has placed the economic damage from the shutdown at around $70 million to $80 million per day when both direct and indirect losses are included.
The blackout has been in place for much of 2026, with Iran’s 90 million people cut off from normal global internet access for extended periods. Reuters reported that Iran entered the third month of restrictions in late April, with most citizens unable to access the open internet except through limited workarounds such as expensive VPNs or satellite connections.
The economic damage has been severe. Online retailers, digital advertisers, logistics services, freelancers and startups have all been hit by the shutdown. A report carried by Asharq Al-Awsat said Iran’s online economy, already weakened by sanctions and years of filtering, has seen incomes evaporate across sectors ranging from fashion and fitness to retail and advertising.
Internet-monitoring group NetBlocks reported that Iran’s latest shutdown had passed 70 days by May 8, exceeding 1,600 continuous hours of disruption. The Wall Street Journal reported that only a limited number of people had managed to bypass the restrictions through satellite networks or VPNs.
