Iraq’s Nationwide Internet Shutdown During 2025 Examination Period

Background

Since 2022, Iraq has implemented temporary nationwide internet shutdowns during critical examination periods, including middle school and high school final exams. These shutdowns are intended to prevent cheating and unauthorized communication during testing. Each year, the practice has consistently affected all IDC facilities and internet services across the country.

Official Directive

According to an official directive from the Ministry of Communications (MoC) in Iraq, there will be a nationwide internet shutdown across all regions of Iraq during the upcoming third class examination period.

Shutdown Schedule

Time: 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM (GMT+3)

  • May 20, 2025
  • May 22, 2025
  • May 24, 2025
  • May 26, 2025
  • May 28, 2025
  • May 31, 2025
  • June 2, 2025
  • June 4, 2025

Impact

This government-mandated outage will affect all internet services in Iraq, including CDN traffic, data center connectivity, and caching performance during the specified time windows. Service providers, businesses, and end users should anticipate temporary disruptions.

Recommendations

  • Adjust operational schedules to account for downtime during the affected hours.
  • Ensure monitoring systems can handle temporary loss of connectivity.
  • Communicate expected service interruptions to customers in advance.

By preparing ahead of time, organizations can minimize the operational impact of these scheduled outages.

For more details on the official directive or assistance with mitigation strategies, please contact your network operations team or local ISP representative.