Iranian authorities have begun selectively restoring internet access to approved professionals and businesses through a paid service called "Internet Pro," while the vast majority of the country's 90 million people remain cut off following a near-total digital blackout imposed when the war with the United States and Israel began on 28 February. Connectivity has fallen to roughly 2 percent of pre-war levels, costing the economy billions of dollars in lost revenue, and the service now being expanded blocks most global messaging platforms — including Telegram, WhatsApp and Instagram — and requires applicants to submit identification and professional documents to state-linked telecoms companies. Critics, including privacy advocates and ordinary citizens, have condemned the tiered system as a normalisation of state-controlled connectivity and a violation of basic rights, even as authorities move to shut down circumvention methods and deploy a centralised national internet gateway to tighten surveillance and control.