Iran Restores Partial Internet Access After Long Shutdown, But Restrictions Persist

What happened

Al Jazeera Iran reports that after nearly three months of a near-total internet blackout at the start of ongoing tensions involving the United States and Israel, Iranian authorities have begun restoring some internet services. The government announced last week that this process aims to return connectivity to pre-war levels, which were already highly restricted due to earlier protests in January. Despite the partial restoration, millions of web pages and widely used global services, such as YouTube, Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Waze, remain blocked or are not being considered for reopening.

Although some connectivity has been resumed, network quality is poor with mobile, wireless, and landline connections described as slow and unreliable across regions. Local applications and services are reportedly malfunctioning frequently, and Google services have inconsistent availability. The partial reopening has also led to increased demand for virtual private networks (VPNs) among Iranians, many of whom access the internet through black market channels that pose risks of scams and malware.

Iranian state authorities continue to enforce complex layered restrictions, effectively reserving fuller internet access for a select few authorized users. According to Al Jazeera's source and local media, many data centres remain offline, and critical internet protocols such as IPv6 and HTTP/3 are blocked, with UDP disrupted. Foreign IP addresses occupy a restricted 'grey' zone that allows minimal traffic volume, further limiting practical access for most users.

Known from the source

• Iran reinstated some internet access after nearly three months offline.
• The internet shutdown length was about 2,000 hours, the longest ever nationwide blackout.
• Major global internet services remain blocked and offline in Iran.
• Network connectivity is slow, patchy, and unreliable in many areas.
• Many data centres remain offline and critical internet protocols are blocked or disrupted.

What remains unclear

The partial reopening has sparked domestic political debate. President Masoud Pezeshkian, who had campaigned on easing internet restrictions, has faced criticism both from reformists, who deem the reopening too slow and insufficient, and hardline groups within Iran’s Supreme National Cybersecurity Council, who reportedly sought legal challenges to halt the process. Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani acknowledged a court order suspending the reopening entity but left future developments unclear.

What remains unclear: Legal status and details of the court order suspending the restoration. Technical status and extent of internet infrastructure and protocol restrictions. Current operational status of the 'Internet Pro' service and future plans. Verification of claims about political factions’ involvement in blocking reopening.

Evidence note

Outside Brief has kept this brief source-led and attributed. Claims should be read alongside the original source linked below.

Original source: Al Jazeera Iran. Open the source.