Iran first imposed a near-total communications blackout on the third day of the protests that swept the country in January, and the restrictions were further tightened after the war with the United States and Israel began. It is a familiar tool deployed by the clerical regime in Iran, which has a history of shutting down the internet to suppress protests and silence dissent: in 2019 , during demonstrations against rising fuel prices; in 2022 , during the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement after