Internet shutdown squeezes Iran's ailing businesses already hurt by
crashing currency
[January 21, 2026] By
ELENA BECATOROS and JON GAMBRELL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranians have been struggling for
nearly two weeks with the longest, most comprehensive internet shutdown
in the history of the Islamic Republic — one that has not only
restricted their access to information and the outside world, but is
also throttling many businesses that rely on online advertising.
Authorities shut down internet access on Jan. 8 as nationwide protests
led to a brutal crackdown that activists say has killed over 4,500
people, with more feared dead. Since then, there has been minimal access
to the outside world, with connectivity in recent days restored only for
some domestic websites. Google also began partially functioning as a
search engine, with most search results inaccessible.
Officials have offered no firm timeline for the internet to return,
leading to fears by businesses across the country about their future.
One pet shop owner in Tehran, who spoke on the condition of anonymity
like others for fear of reprisals, said his business had fallen by 90%
since the protests. “Before that, I mainly worked on Instagram and
Telegram which I don’t have access to anymore. The government has
proposed two domestic alternatives. The point is our customers are not
there — they don’t use it.”
Internet outages are the latest squeeze on businesses
The internet outage compounds economic pain already suffered by
Iranians. The protests, which appear to have halted under a bloody
suppression by authorities, began Dec. 28 over Iran’s rial currency
falling to over 1.4 million to $1. Ten years ago, the rial traded at
32,000 to $1. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, it traded at 70 to $1.
The currency’s downward spiral pushed up inflation, increasing the cost
of food and other daily necessities. The pressure on Iranians’ pockets
was compounded by changes to gasoline prices that were also introduced
in December, further fueling anger.
Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA quoted a deputy minister of
communications and information technology, Ehsan Chitsaz, as saying the
cut to the internet cost Iran between $2.8 to $4.3 million each day.
But the true cost for the Iranian economy could be far higher. The
internet monitoring organization NetBlocks estimates each day of an
internet shutdown in Iran costs the country over $37 million.
The site says it estimates the economic impact of internet outages based
on indicators from multiple sources including the World Bank and the
International Telecommunication Union, which is the United Nations’
specialized agency for digital technology.
In 2021 alone, a government estimate suggested Iranian businesses made
as much as $833 million a year in sales from social media sites, wrote
Dara Conduit, a lecturer at the University of Melbourne in Australia, in
an article published by the journal Democratization in June. She cited a
separate estimate suggesting internet disruptions around the 2022 Mahsa
Amini protests cost the Iranian economy $1.6 billion.
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A fruit seller waits for customer at Tehran's historic Grand Bazaar,
Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
 The 2022 internet disruptions'
"far-reaching and blanket economic consequences risked further
heightening tensions in Iran and spurring the mobilization of new
anti-regime cohorts onto the streets at a time when the regime was
already facing one of the most serious existential threats of its
lifetime,” Conduit wrote.
More than 500 people were reportedly killed during that crackdown
and over 22,000 detained.
Prosecutors target some businesses over protest support
Meanwhile, prosecutors have also begun targeting some businesses in
the crackdown.
The judiciary's Mizan news agency reported Tuesday that prosecutors
in Tehran filed paperwork to seize the assets of 60 cafes it alleged
had a role in the protests. It also announced plans to seek the
assets of athletes, cinema figures and others as well. Some cafes in
Tehran and Shiraz have been shut down by authorities, other reports
say.
Internet cuts drive more outrage
The financial damage also has some people openly discussing the
internet blackout.
In the comments section of a story on the internet blackout carried
by the semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to the
country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, one reader wrote: “For
heaven’s sake, please do not let this internet cut become a regular
thing. We need the net. Our business life is vanishing. Our business
is being destroyed.”
Another commentator questioned why the internet remained blocked
after days with no reports of street protests.
It’s not just the internet blackout that is hurting businesses. The
violent crackdown on the protests, and the wave of a reported 26,000
arrests that followed, also have dampened the mood of consumers.
In Iran's capital, many shops and restaurants are open, but many
look empty as customers focus primarily on groceries and little
else.
“Those who pass by our shops don’t show any appetite for shopping,”
said the owner of an upscale tailor shop in Tehran. “We are just
paying our regular expenses, electricity and staff … but in return,
we don't have anything.”
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