Mohammad-Amin Aghamiri, Secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, has claimed that "the complete internet outage in Dey 1404 lasted only a few hours and the restrictions on other days were a form of network management and limitation."
However, data from international internet-monitoring organizations and reports published at the same time indicate an almost complete loss of Iran's connection to the global internet from 18 Dey and the continuation of that situation for several days.
According to Khabaronline, Aghamiri's claim is made while existing data indicate otherwise.
An examination of the evidence shows that to evaluate this claim one must distinguish between "complete disconnection from the global internet," "access restrictions," and "some domestic services remaining operational."
The first available data is an Al Jazeera report which, citing NetBlocks' internet monitoring on 8 January 2026, corresponding to 18 Dey 1404, reported a nationwide internet blackout in Iran. That report described a sharp drop in connectivity following intensified digital restrictions concurrent with the protests.
Evidence from subsequent days was consistent with this data, so that on 24 Dey 1404, corresponding to 14 January 2026, the organization announced that the broad communications outage had entered its seventh day and had passed 144 hours.
Also on 26 Dey 1404, corresponding to 16 January 2026, another NetBlocks report stated the duration of the nationwide outage had exceeded 180 hours.
On 28 Dey 1404, corresponding to 18 January 2026, NetBlocks reported continued disruptions after 238 hours and a limited restoration of access to some services, including Google; a situation that differed from normal and unrestricted connectivity to the global internet.
This timeline raises serious questions about the claim that the outage was limited to a few hours.
Traffic dropped to near zero; a sign of a widespread blackout
Technical reports published on 18 Dey did not only refer to disruptions on a few platforms or slow internet. According to TechCrunch, data from several internet infrastructure monitoring entities, including NetBlocks, Cloudflare and the Georgia Tech Internet Outage Detection System, recorded a sudden drop in Iran's connectivity. Cloudflare also reported that a very small portion of traffic remained and the country was effectively disconnected from the global internet.
Reuters also reported on 12 January 2026 that after the outage began on 8 January, Iran's internet traffic had fallen to about one percent of normal levels.
These figures are important because there is a difference between "disruption of access to a service" and an "almost complete collapse of international communications." When network traffic reaches about one percent of normal levels, describing the situation as ordinary restriction, without further technical explanation, does not fully convey what users experienced.
Does the National Information Network being active mean the internet is connected?
One of Aghamiri's points emphasized the role of the National Information Network and the continued operation of some internal services.
He said that because of this network, card payment terminals do not stop working; whereas, he claimed, in France during an internet outage all such devices stopped working.
But the National Information Network being active does not necessarily mean connection to the global internet. The National Information Network is an infrastructure for communications and service delivery within the country, while the global internet enables communication with networks, websites and services outside the country.
Consequently, during cuts or restrictions of international communications, some domestic services such as banking systems, electronic payments and websites hosted inside the country may remain operational; yet users may be unable to access a large portion of the global internet.
Therefore, citing the activity of the National Information Network or the continued operation of card payment terminals alone cannot confirm that the internet was connected.
In the end, the claim that "the complete internet outage lasted only a few hours" is not consistent with independent evidence published about the global internet blackout in Dey 1404.
Reports from NetBlocks, Cloudflare and media outlets such as Reuters and TechCrunch indicate a sharp drop in Iran's connectivity from 18 Dey and a continuation of near-blackout conditions for several days. Recorded outages of over 144, 180 and then 238 hours are not consistent with the assertion that the complete internet outage lasted only a few hours.