Anti-government protests in Iran [AP=Yonhap News]

Iranian authorities are secretly planning to permanently block their citizens' access to the international internet, the British media outlet The Guardian reported on the 16th (local time).

Iran's internet censorship watchdog, "Filterwatch," stated in a report, citing internal sources, that the Iranian government is pursuing a plan to permanently grant international internet access only to a select few who have received prior government approval.

Under this plan, only a small number of individuals who pass government pre-authentication procedures, such as security verification, will be able to use the globally filtered internet.

The rest of Iranians will only be able to access a domestic national internet network completely disconnected from the global internet.

Filterwatch said, "State-run media and government spokespeople have already hinted that unlimited internet access will not return after 2026, suggesting this direction is a permanent policy."

The Iranian government completely blocked the internet on the 8th as anti-government protests escalated to a serious level due to public dissatisfaction with living and economic hardships.

Iran has frequently blocked the internet whenever anti-government protests occurred in the past, but the extent of the current blockade is evaluated as incomparably stronger than before.

According to US CNN, as of the 11th, four days after the internet was blocked, Iran's connectivity with the outside world had dropped to 1% of its usual level.

As Iran's internet was completely blocked, a small number of Iranians who subscribed to the US satellite communication network Starlink are communicating with the outside world through Starlink and informing the outside about the atrocities of the crackdown, including photos and videos.