Several Iranian websites switch addresses after domain outages

Several Iranian websites have lost access through their international domain names, prompting some to switch addresses, though the cause of the disruptions remains unconfirmed.

The problems began Nov. 7 with sports website Varzesh3 and cryptocurrency exchange Tetherland, both using .com domains. By Nov. 8, Hoosha and publishing platform Virgool had also reported problems. Virgool’s affected address used .io, showing that the disruptions extended beyond .com.

Varzesh3 said its website was available only at varzesh3.ir following the disruption. Tetherland moved to tetherland.ir and said users’ assets remained fully secure. The .ir suffix is Iran’s country-code domain.

The simultaneous loss of access at Varzesh3 and Tetherland raised questions about whether they shared a hosting and domain-registration provider. That possibility, and a suspected link to sanctions, had not been confirmed.

Hoosha blames a foreign provider

Hoosha said a foreign service provider had caused disruptions affecting some .com domains associated with Iranian websites. It said the problem was unrelated to its own technical infrastructure or domestic authorities.

The platform said there had been no hack, security breach or disruption to user data, and that accounts and projects remained intact. It restored access through hoosha.ai.

Hoosha also advised Iranian businesses to transfer their domains away from U.S. domain registrar GoDaddy. The recommendation did not establish that GoDaddy was responsible for every affected domain or that all four services shared the same provider.

Virgool said access to its domain had been blocked without advance notice and that its team was pursuing the issue through the domain provider’s support service. As of the Nov. 8 report, it had announced neither a restoration timetable nor an alternative domain.

An earlier warning about international domains

The disruptions followed an AFTA warning urging organizations to move to .ir domains, reported Oct. 29. The cybersecurity center, which operates under Iran’s presidency, had warned IT managers that sanctions could abruptly interrupt access to international domains.

AFTA’s recommendation was preventive. It cited potential restrictions on domains including .com, .net and .org; it did not establish the cause of the subsequent outages.

At the time of the Nov. 8 report, neither the responsible authorities nor foreign domain-service providers had officially explained the disruptions.