Why it’s difficult to report on what’s happening in Iranpublished at 09:27 GMT

09:27 GMT

The internet blackout in Iran has entered its 84th hour, according to internet tracking agency NetBlocks in its latest update at 04:36 GMT this morning.

According to web security firm Cloudflare, widespread service disruptions have been continuing since Thursday.

While internet blackouts aren’t unusual in Iran, Amir Rashidi, director of internet security and digital rights at the non-profit Miaan Group, last week told the BBC he has never seen conditions like this.

One internet researcher, Alireza Manafi, says the only likely way to connect to the outside world was via Starlink satellite, but warned users to be cautious as such connections could potentially be traced by the government.

The BBC and most other international news organisations are unable to report from inside Iran, and the blackout means gathering accurate, timely information about the unfolding situation in Iran has become difficult.

A US-based organisation, the Human Rights Activist News Agency, has been providing updates on the death toll of both protesters and security forces, which is says it collects from “various sources” – while BBC Persian has spoken to the families of several people killed.

A chart showing internet connectivity in Iran since 5 January. The line alternates between around 90% and 100% connectivity until the evening of Thursday 9 January when it suddenly plummets to around 1%, where it still remains. The source of the data is NetBlocks.