Iran International:

Iran’s Minister of Communications on Tuesday reported a 30% drop in the digital economy and a 150 trillion rial (about $170 million) loss in just one month, attributing the blow to widespread internet restrictions imposed during the country’s 12-day conflict with Israel.

"Roughly 10 million Iranians earn a living directly or indirectly through the digital economy," said Sattar Hashemi during a session of the Iranian parliament on Tuesday. "During the war, employment in this sector fell by 30%."

Hashemi added that every two days of the conflict inflicted about 10 trillion rials in damage to Iran’s digital economy, totaling 150 trillion rials over the month. "This figure is equivalent to the annual budget of some ministries," he said, blaming the deliberate disruption of internet access.

Hashemi distanced his ministry from the decisions behind the internet restrictions. "These limitations were imposed by relevant authorities and intelligence and security agencies," he said, referring to measures officially justified as “necessary for national security.”

The restrictions, however, have triggered sharp backlash from civil society and digital rights activists, especially amid revelations about an emerging "class-based internet" system that appears to provide full, uncensored access for government insiders while heavily filtering usage for the general public.

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