IRAN ORDERS INTERNET REOPENING AFTER NEAR-90-DAY BLACKOUT

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered the reopening of international internet access after a near-90-day blackout, Iranian state media reported Monday. Reuters reported that the order followed a vote by Iran’s Cyberspace Regulation Committee to restore nationwide connectivity, though the mechanism and timeline for reconnecting Iranians to the global internet remain unclear.

Most Iranians have been unable to access the worldwide web for 87 days, according to internet observatory NetBlocks, cited by Reuters. The blackout was first imposed on January 8 during anti-government protests, eased gradually in February, and was then reinstated after U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran began on February 28.

The shutdown has been one of the most significant internal-control measures of the conflict period. The Guardian reported in April that Iran’s internet blackout had become the country’s longest national shutdown since the Arab Spring period, leaving citizens cut off from global news and reliant on government-controlled domestic platforms. Those platforms included heavily restricted services inside Iran’s National Information Network, sometimes described as a state-controlled intranet.

The blackout also shaped how Iranians experienced the war. Internet restrictions limited access to outside reporting, independent casualty information, protest footage, and communication with relatives abroad. The Washington Post reported that connectivity dropped to about 4% of normal levels after the February 28 U.S.-Israeli strikes, citing NetBlocks.

Even before Monday’s order, access had not been equal. Le Monde reported last month that Iran had moved toward a tiered system in which selected users, approved professionals, and politically connected groups could receive greater access while most people remained limited to censored domestic networks. The report described global internet access as increasingly treated as a privilege granted by the state rather than a default public utility.

The reopening order may signal pressure inside Iran’s political system. Iran’s president has previously presented himself as more open to limited domestic reform than hardline institutions, but internet policy is shaped by multiple power centers, including security bodies and regulators. Iran International reported earlier this month that Pezeshkian had ordered the creation of a committee to review internet restrictions, while many Iranians doubted whether the government could overcome institutions invested in tighter cyberspace control.

The timing also matters internationally. The order comes as Iran and the United States continue talks over the ceasefire, the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions, and nuclear issues. Restoring global internet access could reduce domestic pressure and improve public confidence during diplomacy, but it could also reopen channels for protest coordination, outside reporting, and scrutiny of the state’s wartime conduct.

For now, the central question is implementation. Iranian state media has reported the order, but it is not yet clear whether ordinary users will regain open access, whether restrictions will be lifted only partially, or whether the government will preserve a tiered system with limited exceptions. Until connectivity data confirms broad restoration, the order remains an important announcement rather than a confirmed return to normal access.

Fact-check date: 25 May 2026
Sources: Reuters, NetBlocks, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Le Monde, Iran International

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