Iran experiences a near-total internet blackout amid escalating protests against economic hardships. Amir Rashidi, a cybersecurity researcher, reported an effective disconnection from the outside world, coinciding with significant drops in internet traffic, as noted by Doug Madory from Kentik. Monitoring services like NetBlocks and Cloudflare registered this disruption, tying it to government crackdowns triggered by a currency crisis leading to shortages and price spikes. The blackout significantly hampers communication and information access during the protests.