Within hours, the government imposed a near-total internet blackout, cutting the country off from the outside world. The government has routinely cut internet access during crises, typically citing security issues as the cause. But he was not so lucky during the shutdown before that, amid the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in 2025. Erfan Khorshidi runs a human rights organization from outside Iran but leads a large team inside Tehran. “It’s the only means that allows rights organizations to relay accurate and reliable information to the outside world,” Khorshidi says.