Iranian media reported that on Monday, President Pezeshkian issued an order to restore international internet connectivity. The head of the public relations department of the Ministry of Communications confirmed this information. However, it is still unclear how long it will take for communication with the outside world to return to normal.
According to analysts, the prolonged internet shutdown has caused a collapse in the country's trade and commerce. The government has taken this decision mainly to revive the economy.
Thomas Juneau, an associate fellow at the UK-based research institute Chatham House, said the government may shut down the internet again depending on the situation. If new protests erupt in January due to the economic crisis, another blackout could occur. Amid the ceasefire, Iran fired at a US tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Subsequently, the US launched an attack on Iran's Bandar Abbas area.
US-based human rights organization HRANA reported that authorities first shut down the internet on January 8 when anti-government protests began nationwide. Thousands of people lost their lives in those protests. Although connectivity was restored for a short time in February, internet services were completely shut down in Iran when US and Israeli attacks on Iranian territory began on February 28.
Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the US office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a political coalition with anti-Islamic regime ideology, wrote on Instagram, ‘The longest internet blackout in world history has ended. Greetings to everyone after 88 days.’
Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Seyyed Sattar Hashemi, said on Wednesday, ‘The people of Iran have the right to free communication with the outside world, a bright future, and a dynamic economy. The President has stood by the people, and his commitment to stabilizing the communication system is proof of his prudence.’
Damaged trade and commerce
The three-month internet outage has negatively impacted the country's trade and commerce. Those who ran small businesses relying on Instagram or Telegram have been the hardest hit. A computer programmer named Qumars, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, ‘Many people ran online businesses to save on shop rent. They lost everything in this blackout. Due to debt burdens and huge losses, their situation is now below zero. They have to start everything from scratch.’
Alp Toker, director of the internet monitoring organization NetBlocks, said the restoration process could be slow. It may take days or even weeks in many provinces. He also noted that many platforms are still inaccessible without a VPN. Toker said, ‘People could not communicate with their loved ones. They felt cut off from the world.’
Despite the order to restore internet, ordinary Iranian citizens are not yet fully reassured. An Iranian citizen named Alireza Naji wrote on his ‘X’ profile, ‘Getting world-class internet is still a distant prospect for us. Surviving in this darkness is now the biggest struggle.’
