# Iran: near-total internet shutdown during fuel-price protests

Published 2026-09-23. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 2 sources.

Status: historical, as of 2026-09-22.

What we don't know: The sources reviewed do not name the specific government body that ordered the shutdown.

Iran cut internet connectivity to about five percent of normal levels nationwide for nearly a week during protests over fuel prices, while arresting at least eleven journalists, including one detained for reporting on the shutdown itself.[1][2][3]

- Country: [Iran](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/ir) (RSF 2026 rank: 177th of 180)
- Where: IR
- Level of government: National
- Tactic: Shutdowns and blocking
- Stage: Silence (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/shutdowns_and_blocking#stage-silence)
- Ladder note: Iran cut internet connectivity to about five percent of normal nationwide for nearly a week and arrested a journalist for reporting on the shutdown itself; no United States action in the record has cut off nationwide communications.
- Head of government at the time: [Hassan Rouhani](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/hassan-rouhani)
- Issue of the day: Not stated in the sources reviewed.
- Outcome: Reversed, November 23, 2019. Internet connectivity was restored after roughly a week, according to the source reviewed, though the underlying criminal cases against arrested journalists continued.
- Era: The 2010s

## What happened

Protests broke out across Iran in mid-November 2019 after the government raised fuel prices without warning. Beginning around November 16, 2019, Iranian authorities imposed a near-total shutdown of internet service that lasted nearly a week, with connectivity dropping to about five percent of normal levels nationwide for several days. Human rights monitors said the blackout appeared aimed at stopping the flow of news about the protests and about the security forces' violent response to them. During the shutdown and the days that followed, at least eleven journalists, including photographers and camera operators, were arrested in connection with the protests. One journalist, Mohammad Mosaed, was arrested specifically for posting on social media about the internet shutdown itself and was released on bail the following month.[1][2][3]

Closed; connectivity was restored after roughly a week.[1][2][3]

## What reason was given

Not stated in the sources reviewed.[1][2][3]

## What changed for reporting

The shutdown prevented most independent reporting on the protests and the security response from leaving the country in real time, and journalists who wrote about the blackout itself were arrested.[1]

## Timeline

- 2019-11-16: Iran: near-total internet shutdown during fuel-price protests

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Hassan Rouhani](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/hassan-rouhani) | other | President of Iran |

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Mohammad Mosaed](https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/mohammad-mosaed) | journalist | affected |

## Sources

1. Freedom in the World 2020: Iran. https://freedomhouse.org/country/iran/freedom-world/2020 (Freedom House, 2020-01-01).
2. Iran protests: At least 12 killed at unrest over petrol price rise. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50459971 (BBC, 2019-11-16).

## Claims cited

[1] Number of journalists arrested during the period of the shutdown. Quote: "at least 11 journalists, including photographers and cameramen, had been arrested since the start of the protests in mid-November" Source: Freedom House, 2020-01-01. Freedom in the World 2020: Iran. https://freedomhouse.org/country/iran/freedom-world/2020 Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/544, checked 2026-09-22.

[2] Duration of the shutdown. Quote: "a near-total shutdown of internet service for nearly a week" Source: Freedom House, 2020-01-01. Freedom in the World 2020: Iran. https://freedomhouse.org/country/iran/freedom-world/2020 Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/653, checked 2026-09-22.

[3] Scale of the reduction in connectivity. Quote: "connectivity dropped to just 5 percent of normal levels for several days" Source: Freedom House, 2020-01-01. Freedom in the World 2020: Iran. https://freedomhouse.org/country/iran/freedom-world/2020 Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/654, checked 2026-09-22.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2019-iran-nationwide-internet-shutdown. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.