Iran Ends 88-Day Internet Blackout, Restores Access
Monitors said access remained below 10% of normal levels as fixed broadband returned for some users and mobile networks stayed largely offline.
- On Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued an order to reopen international internet access after a near-90-day blackout, with the Cyberspace Regulation Committee voting to restore nationwide connectivity.
- Authorities initially imposed the blackout on January 8 in response to anti-government protests, then reinstated it after U.S. and Israeli strikes began on February 28, leaving most Iranians without access for 87 days according to internet observatory NetBlocks.
- Human Rights Watch researcher Tomiwa Ilori warned that shutdowns restrict access to lifesaving information and cause severe psychological harm, while the blackout has left many Iranians unable to contact distant family members and caused economic hardship for workers dependent on internet access.
- Implementation details remain unclear, though the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology will oversee restoration after final approval from President Pezeshkian, with the committee formed in mid-May under pressure from hardline conservatives.
- Even after restoration, access to the global internet in Iran remains heavily restricted through website censorship, with authorities continuing to rely on a domestic intranet for essential services including schools running online classes.
262 Articles
262 Articles
Iran Reconnects to the Internet After 88 Days in Digital Darkness
For 88 days, millions of Iranians lived in digital darkness after the authorities imposed a nationwide Internet shutdown following the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel. But the end of one of the world’s longest-ever Internet blackouts offered scant consolation for many Iranians who reconnected to the same heavily filtered and state-controlled network after nearly three months. Still, some Iranians were relieved to escape the nea…
Internet Returns to Iran After Three Months, but Users Report Heavy Filtering and Blocked Apps: 'Too Early to Say the Shutdown Is Over'
Many Iranians reported home internet had returned while mobile service was still unavailable while others said speeds were significantly slower than before the shutdown
After 88 days of digital isolation, the partial return of the internet has meant for many Iranians, above all, a confrontation with loss. Artists, students, professors and activists describe how the limited connection does not allow them to work or communicate normally, but rather places them once again in a position of surveillance and uncertainty.
Iran finally restores internet after nearly 90 days offline
Iranians isolated by a long internet shutdown imposed by the authorities during the war with the U.S. and Israel expressed joy as social media came back to life in a country where even in normal times access to the outside world remains restricted via censorship of many websites. “I’ve never been so happy in my life to see Telegram notifications,” Kian Galvani, an engineering student, wrote on his account on X. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkia…
Iranians are back online after a monthslong shutdown but face heavy restrictions
Iranians began to regain internet access after authorities ended a monthslong shutdown. Users said service was slow and spotty in some areas, with apps like YouTube and Instagram heavily restricted.
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