TEHRAN (AFP) — Cut off from the global internet for more than two weeks, online content creator Amir spends his days scanning the few news websites available on Iran’s domestic web for signs that connectivity to the world might return.

Amir, 32, has been unable to produce his reviews of video games and movies since January 8, when authorities imposed an unprecedented communications blackout amid mass anti-government protests that authorities acknowledge left more than 3,000 dead.

The prolonged shutdown has impacted key sectors of the economy from travel to exports, according to Iranians in Tehran who spoke to AFP, while costing the country millions of dollars each day.

“My work entirely depends on the internet… I really cannot see myself surviving without it,” said Amir, who works with social media platforms including Instagram and YouTube.

He said the restrictions had left him demotivated and increasingly concerned about his income and future.

Nationwide rallies against the rising cost of living erupted in Tehran on December 28, beginning as peaceful demonstrations before turning into what officials describe as “foreign-instigated riots” that included killings and vandalism.

An official death toll from the unrest stands at 3,117, but international NGOs have provided higher numbers.

The protests have since subsided but remaining in place are the internet restrictions, which Iran’s foreign minister has justified as necessary to confront foreign “terrorist operations.” Rights groups, however, say the shutdown was imposed to mask a government crackdown on........

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