Iran Begins Restoring Internet After Months-Long Blackout Amid Regional War

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Iran has begun taking initial steps toward restoring internet access after months of near-total isolation imposed during the conflict involving the United States and Israel, a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday.

Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref announced in a post on X that “the first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken,” adding that the demands of the Iranian people “will be fulfilled.”

The announcement comes a day after reports that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had ordered the restoration of international internet access across the country following months of severe restrictions.

According to Iranian media, a presidential decree instructing authorities to return internet access to its “pre-January state” was formally communicated to the Ministry of Communications on Monday.

Internet monitoring organization NetBlocks also reported signs of recovery, stating on X that “live metrics show a partial restoration to internet connectivity in Iran on day 88, after 2,093 hours of near-total isolation from international networks, the longest nationwide internet shutdown in modern history.”

The organization added that it remained unclear whether the restoration would be sustained.

Iran initially imposed internet restrictions during large-scale anti-government protests that intensified in early January. Authorities later suspended international internet access again on Feb. 28 following the outbreak of war in the Middle East involving the United States and Israel.

Since then, most Iranians have been limited to domestic online services and locally hosted platforms, while access to international websites and applications has remained heavily restricted.

The gradual restoration is expected to reconnect millions of users in Iran to global internet services after nearly three months of digital isolation.