Iran’s two-tier internet access fuels anger and exposes cracks in the regime

 

Members of Iranian security forces stand guard during a gathering to support Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, on March 9, 2026. 

Majid Asgaripour/Wana News Agency/Reuters

The internet blackout in Iran is more than two months old, the longest on record. For millions who rely on being online to make a living, the void has been devastating.

But some have privileged access through what’s called “Internet Pro” – and that’s causing widespread public criticism. The program, launched earlier this year, appears to be another weapon enabling hardliners and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to exert control in Iran.

Iran’s state media boasts of the unity of the government and the people in the face of what it calls an “imposed war” by the United States and Israel, but arguments over who gets what internet access have spilled into the media and embroiled the highest levels of government.

Iranians speak of mounting frustration about being cut off or spending what little money they have in occasionally getting a glimpse of the outside world.

“Imagine dealing with unemployment and crazy inflation, and somehow managing to scrape together 500,000 or a million tomans (about $13), only to spend it on a couple of gigabytes of VPN just so you can get on X or other platforms, check the news, and have a voice,” said Faraz, a 38-year old resident of Tehran. The average monthly wage in Iran is between 20 million and 35 million tomans ($240 to $420).

“And then, in the middle of all this stress and frustration, when you finally manage to open X or Telegram, you see people with unrestricted access acting like everything is normal, it honestly feels like a punch to the gut,” Faraz told CNN.