Before You Buy: Two Things We Have To Say Plainly
1. Governments currently advise against travel to Iran
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advises against all travel to Iran, and warns that British and British-Iranian dual nationals face a significant risk of arrest, questioning or detention — stating that holding a British passport or having perceived connections to the UK can be reason enough to be detained. It also says UK support inside Iran is extremely limited, with no face-to-face consular assistance available in an emergency. Advice updated 13 August 2026.
Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs likewise advises entirely against travel to Iran and has recommended that Spanish citizens in the country leave by the means available. Other governments have issued comparable advice. Travel insurance is normally void if you travel against your own government's advice. Check your own foreign ministry before booking. This page explains connectivity; it is not a recommendation to go.
2. No eSIM survives a national shutdown — including ours
Iran has repeatedly cut mobile and international internet access nationwide. The most severe episode began on 8 January 2026; access to the international internet was severed again from 28 February 2026, and service was only partially restored around 26 May 2026. NetBlocks measured roughly 88 days of near-total isolation — the longest nationwide internet disruption recorded in any country — and put connectivity at about 86% when it returned, with censorship still in place and some regions short of full access. Telephone service, landline and mobile, was disrupted too, not only the internet.
An eSIM is a data plan riding on an Iranian operator's network. If that network is cut, or Iran is disconnected from the international internet, the plan cannot reach anything. That is true of every provider, and any seller who tells you otherwise is not being straight with you. The FCDO still describes ongoing disruption to communications across Iran, with limitations on internet access, as of 13 August 2026.
How to read the rest of this page. Everything below is either a fact from our own coverage database, or a fact with a named source and a date. Where we could not verify something, we removed it rather than guess. Product facts were checked against our live catalogue on 15 September 2026.
The Network You Actually Get: MCI, and Only MCI
Every Iran package in our catalogue declares exactly one Iranian network: MCI, MCC 432 / MNC 11, on 4G. That is true of all six Iran country plans and of the Discover Global plans that list Iran — our coverage rows label them "MCI Iran" and "MCI" respectively, but it is the same operator and the same single network. MCI, branded Hamrah-e Aval, is Iran's first and largest mobile operator.
Per package family
| Package family | Sizes | Iranian network declared |
|---|---|---|
| Iran country plans | 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20 GB (7–30 days) | MCI — 432-11, 4G |
| Discover Global plans | 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20 GB (plus non-expiring options) | MCI — 432-11, 4G |
If your phone asks you to pick a network, pick MCI
Iran has two other national operators — Irancell (MTN, 432-35) and RighTel (432-20). Our plans have no agreement with either. If you select one of them manually, your phone will register, show full signal bars, and give you no data at all — which is a confusing failure mode, because everything looks fine. Leave network selection on automatic; if you have to intervene, choose MCI or Hamrah-e Aval and nothing else.
On speeds and 5G: we are not publishing either. No Iran row in our data declares 5G, so we do not claim it, and we have no measured speed figures for Iran that we could stand behind. Treat MCI as a 4G/LTE network and plan accordingly.
Filtering and Shutdowns: What a Data Plan Cannot Fix
This is the single most important technical fact about buying mobile data for Iran, and it is not really about eSIMs at all. Two different things restrict what you can reach, and they behave differently.
Filtering: routine, selective, changeable
Iran filters a large part of the internet as a matter of ordinary policy. Instagram, Telegram, YouTube and WhatsApp have all been blocked at various points. A decision announced in December 2024 to lift the WhatsApp and Google Play bans was subsequently reversed, and NetBlocks reported WhatsApp still restricted when the 2026 blackout was lifted in May 2026.
The practical consequence: assume major Western social, messaging and app-store services may be unreachable on the day you land, and that the list is not stable. Do not build a trip — or a story, or a piece of fieldwork — around a specific app being available.
Shutdowns: total, national, and out of anyone's hands
Separately, Iran has cut connectivity outright. The 2026 episode began on 8 January, international access was severed again from 28 February, and partial restoration came around 26 May — roughly 88 days, with mobile networks and phone service affected as well as the internet.
During a shutdown, a data plan is inert. There is no operator to register with, or no route out of the country. This applies identically to every eSIM, every local SIM and every roaming agreement.
What we will not do
We do not publish instructions for getting around Iranian filtering, and we do not tell you that any particular tool or app will work there. Circumvention carries real legal and personal risk for the person doing it and, for journalists and researchers, potentially for the people they are in contact with. If your work depends on secure communications in Iran, take advice from an organisation that specialises in digital security for your profession — not from an eSIM retailer, and not from a marketing page.
What a plan on MCI does buy you, honestly stated
- • Mobile data on Iran's largest network from the moment you land, when the network is running.
- • No counter, no passport registration, no local payment needed to get connected — which matters when foreign bank cards do not work in the country.
- • Your usual number stays on your physical SIM or primary line, so anything tied to it still reaches you when it can.
- • A plan you bought and paid for at home, in your own currency, on your own card.
It does not buy you an Iranian phone number, access to filtered services, or immunity from a shutdown. Those are three separate things and no data plan provides any of them.
Quick Iran Facts
Geography
About 1.65 million km², largely arid plateau ringed by the Alborz and Zagros mountains
Our network
MCI (Hamrah-e Aval), 432-11, 4G — the only one our plans declare
Currency
Iranian rial (IRR), but priced in tomans in speech — 1 toman = 10 rials
Emergencies
Police 110 • Ambulance 115 • Fire 125 (UK FCDO)
Language & dialling
Persian (Farsi); country code +98
Power & time
Type C/F sockets, 230 V; time zone UTC+3:30
Emergency numbers from the UK FCDO's "Getting help" page for Iran. Network facts from our own coverage database, checked 15 September 2026. We have deliberately left out a population figure and an exchange rate: both are contested or move too fast for a static page to state honestly.
Iran eSIM Plans & Pricing
Iran is one of our more expensive destinations, and we would rather you knew that up front. Our Iran country plans come in six sizes — 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 and 20 GB — and there is no unlimited option. Several Discover Global plans also list Iran and are usually slightly cheaper per gigabyte, so compare both in the live prices below.
An Iranian prepaid SIM bought locally costs a fraction of this. What you are paying for is arriving connected without a counter, a passport registration or local cash — in a country where your own bank card does not work. If cost per gigabyte is the only thing that matters to you, a local SIM is the better buy and we will not pretend otherwise.
Loading current Iran eSIM prices…
Start small. Because there is no unlimited plan and a top-up costs roughly the same per gigabyte as the original purchase, there is no saving in buying a large bundle in advance — and in a country where connectivity can be cut for weeks, there is a real risk in it. Buy a small plan, and add more once you know the network is reachable.
eSIM Setup for Iran
Install before you fly — this is not optional advice for Iran
Installing an eSIM profile requires a working internet connection to download it from the provisioning server. In most countries you can fall back on airport Wi-Fi if you forgot. In Iran you may not be able to: if access is restricted or cut when you land, an uninstalled eSIM stays uninstalled. Scan the QR code at home on trusted Wi-Fi, confirm the line appears in your settings, then leave it switched off until you arrive.
Three steps
Buy a plan size, not a promise
Iran country plans run 1 to 20 GB; some Discover Global plans also cover Iran. The QR code arrives by email straight away. No ID or passport registration is required to buy.
Scan the QR code at home
Settings, then Cellular or Mobile Data, then Add eSIM, then scan. Works on iPhone XS and later, recent Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel models and most phones sold from 2020 onwards. Do this on your home Wi-Fi, before departure.
Turn on data roaming after you land
Enable data roaming on the eSIM line and give it up to a minute. If your phone asks you to choose a network by hand, choose MCI or Hamrah-e Aval. Do not choose Irancell or RighTel — your plan has no agreement with them, and you will get signal bars with no data.
How Much Data To Buy
These are planning estimates, not measured trips. They come from ordinary application data rates, not from traveller reports we cannot verify. Your own usage will differ, and in Iran it will also depend on how much of what you normally use is reachable at all.
Light — 1 to 3 GB
A short trip, or a first plan to test that the network is reachable before you commit to more.
- • Maps and navigation, with the area downloaded offline beforehand
- • Text messaging and email
- • Occasional web browsing and a translation app
- • No video, no large uploads
Moderate — 5 to 10 GB
A fortnight of cultural or archaeological travel: Tehran, Isfahan, Yazd, Shiraz and Persepolis, with photos going home most days.
- • Daily navigation between and within cities
- • Photo uploads and cloud backup of the day's images
- • Messaging and voice calls over whatever is reachable
- • Reading, reference and translation throughout the day
Heavy — 20 GB, our largest Iran plan
A long stay, or work that involves moving files: academic fieldwork, a business trip with video meetings, a photographer working to a deadline.
- • Video calls and screen sharing, where they connect at all
- • Large file transfers and continuous cloud sync
- • Raw image or video backup at the end of each day
- • Note: there is no unlimited Iran plan; above 20 GB you are topping up
One Iran-specific planning note
Download everything you will need offline before you arrive: maps of every city and route, an offline translation pack, your booking confirmations, your embassy's contact details and your emergency numbers. In most countries that is a nice-to-have. In a country that has disconnected itself for weeks at a time, it is the difference between an inconvenience and being stranded without an address you can read.
Coverage Across Iran
What we can and cannot tell you. We know which network your plan uses — MCI — and that it is a 4G network. We do not have measured coverage percentages, speed tests or per-site signal data for Iran, so this section describes the shape of the problem rather than inventing numbers. The previous version of this page carried coverage statistics and speed figures with no source behind them; they have been deleted.
Where coverage is strongest
MCI is Iran's largest operator and its network is built around the population. Expect the most reliable service in and around the major cities and the corridors between them.
- • Tehran and its metropolitan area
- • Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Tabriz, Yazd, Kerman, Kashan
- • Major intercity highways and the main rail corridors
- • International airports and their approaches
Where to expect gaps
Iran is large, mountainous and in places very thinly populated. Plan for stretches with nothing.
- • The central deserts: the Dasht-e Kavir and the Dasht-e Lut
- • High ground in the Alborz and Zagros ranges
- • Minor roads away from the intercity network
- • Archaeological sites some distance from the nearest town
Regional cuts are a separate risk from terrain
Alongside the national shutdowns described above, connectivity in Iran has at times been restricted regionally. A city or province can lose service while the rest of the country is online. Terrain gaps are predictable and you can plan around them; this kind is not. Treat offline maps and written-down addresses as standard equipment rather than a precaution, and do not rely on being able to reach anyone at a fixed time.
Troubleshooting an Iran eSIM
1.Full signal bars, but nothing loads
Most likely cause in Iran: your phone has registered on Irancell or RighTel instead of MCI. Your plan has no agreement with them, so the phone attaches to the network and shows bars, but no data session is ever established.
What to do:
- 1. Settings, then Cellular or Mobile Data, then your eSIM line
- 2. Confirm Data Roaming is ON — the eSIM will not work without it
- 3. Open Network Selection and switch it from Automatic to Manual
- 4. Choose MCI or Hamrah-e Aval (it may appear as 432 11)
- 5. If it still fails, set selection back to Automatic and toggle Airplane mode for 30 seconds
2.The eSIM will not install, or sits on "Activating"
Installing a profile downloads it over the internet. If you are trying to install it in Iran, a restricted or interrupted connection is the obvious suspect.
What to do:
- 1. Get onto the most reliable connection available and retry
- 2. Turn off any VPN or private-relay feature before installing — these commonly break eSIM provisioning anywhere in the world
- 3. Toggle Airplane mode, wait 30 seconds, turn it off, then wait two or three minutes
- 4. Restart the phone if it is still stuck after ten minutes
- 5. Check for a pending OS update: eSIM handling bugs are routinely fixed in point releases
This is why we say install before you fly: none of the above helps if the country is offline.
3.Data works, but a specific app does not
If web pages load but one particular service will not connect, that is almost certainly filtering, not a fault with your plan. There is no setting on your phone and no action on our side that changes it.
Test with a plain web page first. If general browsing works, the plan is working. Contact us only if nothing at all loads — that is a connectivity problem we may be able to help with.
4.No service at all, anywhere, for an extended period
If neither your eSIM nor anyone else's phone around you has service, you are probably not looking at a fault. Iran has cut mobile networks nationwide, most recently for a period beginning in January 2026 that ran to partial restoration in late May 2026.
There is nothing to troubleshoot in that situation and no provider can restore it. Fall back on what you downloaded offline, and on your embassy's guidance for your nationality. Contact us about the plan afterwards and we will look at what is fair.
Planning Profiles: Matching a Plan To Your Trip
How to read these
These are planning profiles, not trip reports. We have not measured anyone's Iran data usage, so we are not going to print figures dressed up as measurements. Each profile maps a realistic kind of visitor onto the plan sizes our Iran catalogue actually offers: 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 and 20 GB, with no unlimited option.
One recommendation applies to all of them. Buy small and top up. Iran has cut connectivity nationwide for months at a time, top-ups cost roughly the same per gigabyte as the original plan, and there is no bulk discount to chase. Committing to a large bundle before you know the network is reachable is the one avoidable mistake here.
Cultural and archaeological travel
Two to three weeks across Tehran, Kashan, Isfahan, Yazd, Shiraz and Persepolis
Why that size
The heaviest consumers on a trip like this are maps and photographs. Both can be managed: download every city and route offline before you arrive, and let image backup run only when you have Wi-Fi you trust. What remains is messaging, email, reference lookups and a translation app, which is modest.
Worth knowing
- • Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rustam and Pasargadae are out of town — treat the drive as a coverage gap and have the route saved offline.
- • Site signage and museum labelling are often Persian-only; an offline translation pack is worth more here than a bigger data bundle.
- • Distances between the classic cities are long. Buy for the whole trip rather than assuming you can top up at a convenient moment.
- • A 20 GB plan is rarely the right call for sightseeing alone — start smaller and add more.
Journalists and researchers
Reporting, fieldwork or archival research, usually on a fixed schedule
Why that size
For this group the binding constraint is not gigabytes, it is reachability. Filtering is extensive and changes without notice, connectivity has been cut nationally for months at a time, and regional cuts happen on their own timetable. Buying a large bundle in advance buys you nothing if the network is down.
Worth knowing
- • Do not build a filing schedule around a specific platform being reachable. Agree a fallback with your desk before you go.
- • We do not publish circumvention guidance, and we cannot tell you that any tool will work. Take digital-security advice from an organisation that specialises in your profession.
- • Note the FCDO warning that some nationals and dual nationals face a significant risk of arrest, questioning or detention in Iran.
- • A data-only eSIM cannot place a voice call or receive an SMS. Keep a line that can do both.
Business travel
Meetings, site visits, a week or two at a time
Why that size
Email and documents are light; video calls are not, and they are the thing most likely to matter on a business trip. 10 GB gives room for daily calls and file transfer without the exposure of committing to the largest bundle.
Worth knowing
- • Hotel Wi-Fi exists but is subject to the same national filtering as mobile data — it is not a way around anything.
- • Your own bank card will not work in Iran. Buy connectivity, and anything else you can, before you fly.
- • Schedule calls with slack in them. Assume at least one will not connect.
- • Sanctions affect far more than roaming. Take proper compliance advice for the business itself; this page is only about connectivity.
Visiting family
Longer stays, often with relatives providing local knowledge and a local number
Why that size
This is the group for whom our plans are least obviously the right answer. For a stay of several weeks an Iranian prepaid SIM costs a fraction of an eSIM bundle and gives you an Iranian number, which unlocks domestic services an eSIM cannot.
Worth knowing
- • A sensible pattern: a small eSIM plan so you land connected, then a local SIM once someone can take you to a shop.
- • Getting a local SIM means a counter, a passport and local payment — easier with family than alone.
- • Iranian numbers are what Snapp, Tap30 and most domestic services verify against. No data plan substitutes for one.
- • Our largest Iran plan is 20 GB. There is no unlimited option, so a long stay means topping up.
Photography
Working to a brief, or simply shooting a great deal every day
Why that size
Raw files are the one genuinely heavy load on this list. A single day of serious shooting can exceed a whole sightseeing trip if you back it up over mobile data.
Worth knowing
- • Back up to physical storage as your primary method and treat cloud sync as the secondary. Carry enough cards.
- • Turn off automatic full-resolution upload before you land, not after you notice the usage.
- • Photography near government, military and some infrastructure sites is restricted and taken seriously. Check locally before you raise a camera.
- • 20 GB is our ceiling for Iran. Beyond that you are buying a second plan.
Short stay or stopover
A few days, or a transit with time in the city
Why that size
A small plan is the whole point of an eSIM in Iran: you land with data, without a counter, a passport registration or local cash. For a few days of maps and messaging you will not get near 3 GB.
Worth knowing
- • Install and test the profile at home. If you arrive during a restriction, an uninstalled eSIM stays uninstalled.
- • Download your maps and your hotel address offline before departure.
- • Our shortest Iran plan runs 7 days, which comfortably covers a stopover.
- • Top-ups cost roughly the same per gigabyte, so there is no saving in over-buying.
The four things that apply to everyone
- • One network: MCI (Hamrah-e Aval, 432-11, 4G). Never select Irancell or RighTel by hand.
- • Install before you fly. Provisioning needs internet you may not have on arrival.
- • Data only. No Iranian number, no SMS, no voice calls — including to emergency numbers.
- • No plan survives a shutdown. Ours included, and everyone else's.
Money, Emergencies and Practicalities
Emergency numbers
110
Police
115
Ambulance
125
Fire
Source: the UK FCDO's "Getting help" page for Iran. Two things to understand: these are voice calls, and a data-only eSIM cannot place them — keep a line that can make a normal call. And during the 2026 shutdown telephone service was disrupted alongside the internet, so do not treat phone access as guaranteed either. Save your embassy's details offline before you travel; consular support inside Iran is extremely limited for many nationalities.
Your bank card will not work
Because of international banking sanctions, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and foreign debit cards do not function in Iran. Foreign cards are not connected to the Iranian banking network, so ATMs and card terminals will not accept them — this is not a matter of finding the right bank. Visitors generally bring the whole trip budget in cash, in good-condition US dollars or euros, and change it locally; worn or marked notes are frequently refused by exchangers. Iranian prepaid tourist cards, loaded in advance, are the other common arrangement.
This is the strongest practical argument for buying connectivity before you fly. You can pay for an eSIM with your own card, at home, in your own currency. You cannot do that once you land.
Rials, tomans and the four zeros
The rial (IRR) is the legal currency, but prices are spoken in tomans, and one toman means ten rials. A price quoted as "thirty thousand" can mean 30,000 tomans or 30,000 rials — a tenfold difference, and the commonest way visitors overpay. Ask which unit is meant, every time, and have the number written down.
A redenomination adds a second layer. Iran's parliament approved removing four zeros in October 2025: 10,000 old rials become 1 new rial, subdivided into 100 qeran. The changeover began in the Iranian year that started on 21 March 2026, with a transition of up to three years in which old and new notes circulate together. Expect to see both in your hand.
We do not quote an exchange rate on this page. Iran has more than one rate and they move too quickly for a published figure to be anything but misleading.
An eSIM is not an Iranian phone number
Our Iran plans are data-only. In Iran that limitation bites harder than elsewhere, because domestic services stand in for the international ones that do not operate there — the ride-hailing apps Snapp and Tap30 being the obvious example — and they verify sign-up by SMS to an Iranian number. No data plan can provide one. If you need those services you need an Iranian SIM registered in your name, which means a shop, a passport and local payment. Many visitors carry both: an eSIM for data from the moment they land, and a local SIM obtained later for the number.
Entry requirements
Iran's visa rules vary sharply by nationality and change frequently, and some nationalities face extra conditions such as travelling with an approved guide. We are not going to publish a rule here that would be wrong for a large share of readers. Check the current requirement for your specific passport with an Iranian embassy or consulate, and check again close to departure. Note too that a visa being obtainable and travel being advisable are separate questions — see the advisory at the top of this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
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