Iran’s months-long internet blackout begins to ease, but uncertainty and infighting persist
After nearly three months of near-total disconnection, Iran on Tuesday began seeing signs of internet connectivity returning, according to multiple internet-monitoring groups and international media reports. Officials framed the move as the “first steps” toward restoring access, but the pace and scope of the reconnection appeared uneven, and domestic political tensions surfaced as Iran’s judiciary moved against a presidential body linked to the restoration order.
Background: a record shutdown amid protests and war
Several outlets described the blackout as Iran’s longest-ever and among the longest of its kind. Monitoring group NetBlocks reported a “restoration partial” of connectivity after 88 days of a shutdown that had been “almost completely out,” as cited by Clarín and echoed across reporting.
Accounts differed on when and why the outage began. BBC News reported internet access had been cut since the start of a war in late February. The Guardian, meanwhile, linked the cutoff to anti-government protests in January, and said monitors were “unsure if political or technical issues” explained the prolonged delay in restoring access, despite regime claims.
Key developments: partial restoration, pledges—and pushback
Iranian officials said action was underway to bring services back. Le Monde quoted Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref announcing that initial measures had been taken, calling it “the first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace” (“La première étape vers un accès libre et régulé au cyberespace a été franchie”). Deutsche Welle similarly reported Aref said the government had taken the first steps to restore access, while data showed an uptick in connectivity.
State-aligned and foreign wire reporting set expectations for a faster return. TASS reported Iran would restore internet access within 24 hours, saying connectivity had been almost completely absent for more than 88 days.
At the political level, The Times of Israel reported Iran’s judiciary suspended a presidential body after it ordered internet access restored, saying the decision came after the “filing of complaints” over the move—an indication of internal friction over reopening the digital space. La Repubblica characterized the episode as President Masoud Pezeshkian confronting hardliners over restarting the network, with legal and political resistance before access began returning.
Implications and reactions: connectivity returns, but narratives diverge
International outlets broadly agreed that connectivity was rising but described it as incomplete. The New York Times reported that organizations tracking online traffic confirmed an uptick on Tuesday as Iranians began reconnecting to the global internet, while a follow-up NYT report said Iranians were emerging from a “black hole” as the shutdown eased—though not everyone had access, and those who did questioned how long it would last.
Geopolitical context also colored coverage. South China Morning Post described the partial restoration as a sign the record shutdown was easing amid a diplomatic push to end the war with the US, and separately reported that state media said President Pezeshkian had ordered reopening of international access. Al Jazeera English, in its regional live coverage, also reported that Pezeshkian had ordered restoration, placing the move alongside wider conflict-related diplomacy.
Conclusion: access is rising, but the end point remains unclear
By May 26, multiple monitors and media outlets documented partial restoration of Iran’s internet after roughly 88 days offline. Yet major questions remain: whether reconnection will become nationwide and stable, and whether it is driven primarily by technical constraints, political decisions, or pressure from public unrest and wartime diplomacy. As The Guardian noted, there was still “no sign” of a clear end-point—an uncertainty reinforced by the judiciary’s reported intervention and the continued mismatch between official assurances and on-the-ground connectivity data.