‘We didn’t know if the people we loved were safe’: Iranian-Canadians reconnect with family as internet blackout eases

The Iranian regime shut off the country’s internet during a recent string of protests last month — and many worry the country may have permanently decoupled from the World Wide Web. Rose Bahrami fought back tears when she talked about her recent attempts to get ahold of friends and family in Iran. “On the days that most of the killings happened…, we didn’t know what was happening,” she told The Wire Report. “We didn’t know if the people we loved were safe or if they had been killed. A lot of our friends lost loved ones.” Bahrami is among the many Iranian-Canadians disconnected from friends and relatives after the Iranian government imposed a state-wide blackout on internet and cellular services on Jan. 8, during a recent wave of protests. The social unrest in Iran started on Dec. 28, 2025, in response to the country’s deteriorating fiscal situation, and led to a weeks-long violent crackdown from the Iranian regime, with some death toll estimates reaching as high as 30,000 people, likely making it the deadliest stretch since the country’s Islamic revolution in 1979. However, details of the protests remain scant as the regime’s blackout largely cut off those in Iran from the rest of the world by disabling internet networks, cell service, and satellite connectivity from companies such as Starlink. A degree of connectivity has since been restored, as some Iranians have made contact outside Iran by circumventing the block on Starlink through virtual private networks (VPNs). As a result, some Iranians have been able to call loved ones in Canada, though phone conversations are widely believed to be monitored by the state. The regime has also since upped the penalty for anyone caught using Starlink to multi-year prison sentences or, potentially, execution. “I had a short call from a relative who said they know calls are being controlled,” said Bahrami, a real estate lawyer and president of the Iranian-Canadian Legal Professionals.“The first thing they told me was that calls are being controlled. They said, ‘please don’t say anything. I can’t say anything, but I just wanted to let you know we’re okay.’” Many people in the Iranian-Canadian diaspora, which counts more than 200,000 members, are still struggling to find a consistent line of connection to the other side of the world, as the internet shutdown approaches the one-month mark. “At first, there was a complete shutdown,” explained Bahrami. “Since then, there have been some sporadic messages , mainly to say they’re okay and a lot of people have been killed. They’re also asking if anybody’s going to help them, and saying that they need help.” “It’s been very distressing because I knew… friends and relatives who had messaged me that they would be going to the protests.” Thankfully, everyone Bahrami knows back in Iran is safe, but the protests have indefinitely changed Iran’s relationship with the global internet, she said, as those sympathetic to the regime continue to enjoy connectivity, while those who support the protesters have been left in the dark. “From what we hear, they are creating a two-tier internet access where the regime and people that work with them still have access to a free internet,” she said. “With this uprising, the has put more effort into creating an internal internet that they can control and monitor. So, not everyone will have access to a free internet like there was before.” It has marked an escalation of Iran’s state-imposed digital divide, where regime loyalists have been given so-called “white SIM cards” that allow them to access the free internet and supposedly banned websites. This issue rose to international prominence last year after the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) introduced an update that revealed a user’s country of origin. In turn, many accounts were identified to be based in Iran, suggesting selected individuals, politicians and media officials were granted unfettered access to the world wide web. The Iranian government has also constructed a National Information Network (NIN) in recent years by funding state-owned infrastructure projects, in an effort to separate the country from the global internet, though the NIN was also shut down during the protests. “It has been revealed that… has connected some of their forces and people with white SIM cards,” said Kei Esmaeilpour, director of the Civic Association of Iranian-Canadians. “But all other people are on a limited SIM card that has now been censored.” “So, some people, including security forces, are connected, but other people have had their internet disabled.” Esmaeilpour, who still has family in the capital city of Tehran, as well as the surrounding provinces, said the internet shutdown has pervaded every element of his relatives’ day-to-day life. “People go to buy something, but they cannot pay for it,” he said in an interview. “They cannot get money from the bank, and some people can’t get their salary. Even in hospitals, when there’s no internet, they can’t connect to their imaging systems.” “It’s worse than a power outage. Everything has collapsed and we cannot imagine how much it would have an impact on people.” The global internet monitor Netblocks estimates the shutdown has cost the Iranian economy US$37 million per day. Esmaeilpour said he has routinely stayed up through the night in recent weeks, in the hopes of receiving an update or message from friends or family. “When the phone does get connected, I’m scared to see what the bad news will be,” he noted. “Who has been killed? That’s the worst part.” Global Affairs Canada (GAC) told The Wire Report that Canadians in Iran should register for the government’s emergency notification program to receive updates. “Due to ongoing connectivity issues in Iran, family members in Canada may register on behalf of Canadian citizens or permanent residents currently in the country, ensuring that reliable contact information is provided,” read a statement from GAC spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod. Ottawa has advised all Canadians to leave Iran immediately, if possible, and avoid travelling to the area. Iran blackout ‘most extensive’ in history: expert According to Merlyna Lim, a communication professor at Carleton University, autocratic regimes are increasingly turning to the internet and digital information systems as a means of exerting control over the public. She noted how an internet shutdown is not a novel concept, as similar practices were seen in the Middle East during the 2011 Arab Spring protests, as well as intermittent censorship in countries like Indonesia in recent years, but the Iranian blackout has been “historic.” “This blackout is probably the most extensive,” said Lim. “It’s long, but also the scale and the degree to which it impacted what happened on the ground, and how it unraveled globally.” “The goal was to make it possible to stop coordination.” However, Lim continued, turning off the internet increasingly has economic repercussions, as the global economy becomes intertwined with digital tools, forcing Iran, among other countries, to find more creative workarounds. “It’s the dilemma of an authoritarian regime,” she said. “You want the internet for economic growth, but you struggle to balance that with political control.” “But Iran has built the National Information Network in a way that allows the state to kill the global web, while keeping local banking and shipping running. Effectively, they have managed to decouple the economy from the open internet.” On Wednesday, Canada joined other members from the Freedom Online Coalition, an international group working to promote uncensored internet access, in condemning Iran’s shutdown and calling on the regime to restore all internet and telecommunications services. “This shutdown, which reflects a longstanding and worsening pattern by the government to restrict freedom of expression online, has prohibited peaceful demonstrators from exercising their right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly and provided cover for a crackdown on peaceful demonstrators,” read the group’s statement. “The Freedom Online Coalition is particularly concerned about the disproportionate impact of internet shutdowns and related repressive measures on persons in vulnerable situations.” “For these populations, the loss of digital connectivity further exacerbates existing barriers to accessing essential services, emergency assistance, information, and support networks, and heightens their exposure to violence, discrimination, and abuse.” dlegree@thewirereport.ca

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‘We didn’t know if the people we loved were safe’: Iranian-Canadians reconnect with family as internet blackout eases

Telecom | By Davis Legree |February 4, 2026

The Iranian regime shut off the country’s internet during a recent string of protests last month — and many worry the country may have permanently decoupled from the World Wide Web.

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Telecom |
By Davis Legree
|February 4, 2026