Iranian merchants have only 20 minutes of internet access per day to conduct their operations with other countries, Farsi-language news network Iran International reported on Sunday.
According to the report, the president of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Majidreza Hariri, said that the internet is available in Tehran and other provinces for registered people who need to continue operations with China.
"The time given is undesirable, only allowing to check a couple of emails in a short 20-minute span," Hariri added.
According to another report by the Farsi-language network Manoto, Ali Hakim Javadi, head of the Computer Industry Organization, has announced that daily Internet outages cause economic damage of between two and three trillion tomans ($18 million to $27 million).
Iran has been cut off from the Internet since January 8, resulting in the longest Internet blackout in the country's history. The Islamic Republic has used this as part of its repression mechanism to crack down on the nationwide protests reported in the country since late December.
Iran's Internet blackout continues as regime targets protests
The Islamic Regime had assured last week that the Internet would return to the country by Friday, and reports indicated that some services linked to the regime had been restored.
According to a report by privately owned NetBlocks, the Iranian Internet blackout hit 400 hours on Sunday, with minimal activity recorded on Friday.
Meanwhile, crackdowns on protests continue to target civilians, with reports of thousands of people killed by the regime since late December.
A report by TIME Magazine said that as many as 30,000 people may have been killed across Iran during a two-day crackdown on January 8 and 9.
The number, if true, would massively increase the death toll from previously believed estimates. Days after the alleged massacre, Iran International reported that approximately 12,000 died within the two-day period.