Iran partially restores internet access

Iranian authorities partially restored internet connectivity on Tuesday after an almost three-month shutdown imposed against the backdrop of the war against Israel and the US, said a monitor, a senior official and sources inside the country. The shutdown left Iranians largely cut off from international networks, with only a domestic intranet working for daily tasks […]

Iranian authorities partially restored internet connectivity on Tuesday after an almost three-month shutdown imposed against the backdrop of the war against Israel and the US, said a monitor, a senior official and sources inside the country.
The shutdown left Iranians largely cut off from international networks, with only a domestic intranet working for daily tasks like shopping, ride-hailing and education.
“Live metrics show a partial restoration to internet connectivity in Iran on day 88” of the shutdown, monitor Netblocks said on X, saying it was “unclear” if this meant a permanent end to the “longest nationwide internet shutdown in modern history”.
Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said in a post on X that the “first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken,” adding that the demands of Iranians “will be fulfilled.”
State news agency IRNA and Fars news agency said “full international internet connectivity has been restored” for users of fixed broadband services, but this had not been confirmed by internet monitor NetBlocks.
Witnesses inside Iran also told AFP that mobile internet remains cut, but home internet with Wi-Fi had been restored, even though VPNs were still needed to access some social media.
“A few minutes ago I could open international websites using my home internet provider,” said a 22-year-old woman from the western city of Kermanshah, asking not to be named.
A user in Tehran said the internet service for his company in Tehran has been restored, but “mobile connection remained the same” without any access. Others reported that general access remained extremely patchy.
The shutdown imposed when war erupted on February 28 followed a similar blackout imposed from January 8 as the country was rocked by mass anti-government protests.
Activists said that the January closure was aimed at masking the scale of a crackdown on the protests, which left thousands dead according to rights groups, as well as preventing more demonstrations.
Doug Madory, head of internet analysis at US network monitoring firm Kentik, said the partial restoration needed to be kept “in perspective”.
“Iran has a long way to go to get back to pre-Jan-8 levels of traffic volumes,” he wrote on X.