NetBlocks
⚠️ Update: It's now day 41 of #Iran's internet blackout, with the regime's ban on access to global networks continuing past 960 hours. The measure, unprecedented in scale and duration for a connected society, continues to violate Iranians' rights to communicate and stay informed.
Apr 9 at 7:24amWeb
Show threadKevin Karhan13h ago
@netblocks the only way to get information into #Iran seems to be #Toosheh and the only way in and out #Sneakernet unless one's close to the border and can #DIY some setup with #Roaming #SIM cards & -Sticks...
Show threadwakest likes your bugs ⁂12h ago

@kkarhan @netblocks oh wow I have never heard of Toosheh before, do you know if it's still active?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toosheh

Toosheh - Wikipedia

Show threadدانیال بهزادی 🦁12h ago
@liaizon @kkarhan @netblocks
Yep. Toosheh and RostamMedia are active.
Additionally, I tried near-border roaming. It seems completely impossible.
Show threadwakest likes your bugs ⁂12h ago
@danialbehzadi @kkarhan @netblocks oh interesting like you aren't able to pick up any LTE from neighboribg countries? I wonder if there is jammers in place or how it is being tuned to not penetrate across
Show threadدانیال بهزادی 🦁12h ago
@liaizon @kkarhan @netblocks
You see them, but have no Internet through roaming via them. Even my friends in Europe claims that their Iranian sims has no Internet via roaming.
Show threadwakest likes your bugs ⁂11h ago
@danialbehzadi @kkarhan @netblocks ah right, have you tried to use an esim from another country first before you try to connect over the boarder? Roamless allows registration with just a email address and gives you 1 GB free
Show threadKevin Karhan10h ago
@liaizon @danialbehzadi @netblocks I guess the problem is universal across all [e]SIMs in that obtaining one is the hard part.
Kevin Karhan (@[email protected])

@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] yeah, you need like a *foreign* #Roaming #Data - #SIM (or #eSIM), as Iranian Telcos have no #DataRoaming agreements. - And OFC with all the #sanctions and #Outages in place one cannot simply go to some [e]SIM site on the internet and buy one. - Tho I may know some given your friends in Europe may be able to obtain these for you.

jorts.horse
Show threadKevin Karhan10h ago

@liaizon @danialbehzadi @netblocks

Add to it the fact that places like #Turkey demand #KYC on a per - #IMEI basis with registrations in #Turkcell shops after 90 days and they then ban devices for a full year, and you'd propably need at least 5 different Surfsticks [if not (e)SIMs, cuz ICCIDs will likely too be recorded] to swap between networks.

  • Needless to say such a setup will, if uncovered, be framed as "espionage".

Plus there are not that many areas where this is feasible too.

Show threadKevin Karhan10h ago

@danialbehzadi @liaizon @netblocks yeah, you need like a foreign #Roaming #Data - #SIM (or #eSIM), as Iranian Telcos have no #DataRoaming agreements.

  • And OFC with all the #sanctions and #Outages in place one cannot simply go to some [e]SIM site on the internet and buy one.
    • Tho I may know some given your friends in Europe may be able to obtain these for you.
Show threadKevin Karhan10h ago

@danialbehzadi @liaizon @netblocks mostly because #Iran also employs #ElectronicWarfare and uses jammers near the border.

  • I know from similar scenarios that abusing a satellite dish or similar to point like an LTE stick or -Antenna at a cell tower across the border can help, but obviously this is neither discrete nor easy to hide.
    • Same goes for like optical links with stuff like #RONJA, but that necessitates friends close by on the other side of the border in line of sight.
Show threadKevin Karhan9h ago
@liaizon @netblocks yes, and the people behind it are working overtime rn.
Show threadBoud12h ago

@netblocks

https://www.daadkhast.org/en/petition/6360

Help Restore Internet Access in Iran, Be the Voice of the Iranian People

Raise your voice, write a petition. Every person is welcome to submit a petition on any subject.

Show threadJeffrey Rogers 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿11h ago
@netblocks I suspect that US big tech’s ability to analyse social media and other internet data is no small part of the US ability to locate human targets. Also and without doubt, if there was access, there would also be considerable US/Israeli propaganda fed to social media users. Only one side has this ability. Are we surprised that their opponents shut it out?
Show threadMehrad   9h ago

@Jeffrey
Based on your post, it seems to me that you think this #Iran internet blackout a new one-off phenomenon. Perhaps this Wikipedia article can help clarifying the situation:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Internet_blackout_in_Iran

The gist of it is: the iran gov have cut internet access at any war or uprising as a measure to orchestrate the narrative fed to people inside, and to the rest of the world. This is a technique to control who hears what and when.

@netblocks

2026 Internet blackout in Iran - Wikipedia

Show threadJeffrey Rogers 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿6h ago
@netblocks @Mehrad Who knows how Iran might have turned out had the US and UK not overthrown democracy there in the early 50s? This repressive, awful regime is as much a child of western foreign policy as it is of the fanatics that control it now. My point is that any country that finds itself at war with the US and its tech bros would be wildly naive not to control free rein foreign access to its population. I am commenting on that not previous repressions.