WhiteSimWatch

What Is a White SIM Card?

In Iran, the government has spent decades dismantling net neutrality and building a two tier internet. Platforms such as X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Telegram are permanently blocked for ordinary citizens. More than 5 million websites are filtered. Millions of Iranians must rely on VPNs just to access these platforms, even though VPN use is technically illegal under Iranian law. But a second, privileged internet exists for those in power, bypassing every restriction. Critics call this system "tiered internet" or اینترنت طبقاتی.

A "white SIM card," known in Persian as سیم‌کارت سفید, is a special mobile line that is completely exempt from Iran's national internet filtering system. These lines are not publicly available. They are believed to be distributed to around 16,000 people out of Iran's 90 million population, a small group considered loyal to the Islamic Republic. This group reportedly includes senior government officials, commanders and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC, state television and radio journalists, editors of government affiliated newspapers, judiciary figures, and intelligence personnel. Anyone with a white SIM card can freely access blocked websites, including X and Instagram, directly from Iran with no VPN and no restrictions. Ordinary citizens cannot.