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“Iran’s authorities approved returning internet access to its pre-January 2026 status, state media reported on Monday after 87 days of digital blackout and isolation from the global internet. The reports, citing informed sources, said the decision was made at a meeting of the”
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Reports from state-linked media and monitoring groups indicate that Iranian authorities have approved the restoration of internet access to its pre-January 2026 status. This decision follows a record-breaking 87-day digital blackout that began during a period of intense domestic unrest and was further extended by regional conflict.
The claim that Iran has approved the return of internet access after an 87-day blackout is supported by the timeline of events documented throughout early 2026. The blackout began on January 8, 2026, amid nationwide protests and was later compounded by military strikes involving the United States and Israel on February 28. By late May 2026, the duration of this near-total shutdown reached the 87-day mark cited in the reports. Prior to this restoration, the Iranian government had implemented a highly restrictive 'two-tier' or 'whitelist' system known as Internet Pro, which granted connectivity only to specific professional groups like doctors and academics while leaving the general population offline. Monitoring groups like NetBlocks and digital rights organizations had previously identified this as the longest nationwide internet disruption ever recorded. The economic impact was severe, with estimates suggesting losses of approximately $37 million per day, totaling billions of dollars over the course of the blackout. While authorities previously claimed the shutdown was a response to security threats and 'terrorist operations,' the move to restore access follows months of domestic and economic pressure. The reported decision by the authorities to return to pre-January 2026 status suggests a pivot away from the 'barracks-style' digital governance that had defined the first half of the year.
Source quality: The evidence includes detailed reporting from RFI, Al Jazeera, and Le Monde, along with data from NetBlocks. These sources consistently document the start date (January 8), the duration, and the specific mechanisms of the blackout, providing a solid foundation to verify the 87-day timeline.
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8 reviewed sources behind this verdict.
Explains the transition from a blanket blackout to a tiered whitelist system and quotes government officials regarding the eventual restoration of access.
Details the government's implementation of the Internet Pro system and the economic devastation caused by the shutdown.
Provides a comprehensive timeline of the 2026 blackout, confirming it is the longest in history and detailing the specific dates of connectivity drops.
* Le Monde Games Subscriber Other offers. **The holder of your subscription has paused their plan for one month, until #suspension\_date#.** You no longer have access to their benefits. # Internet access in Iran becomes a privilege granted by the government. Tehran is implementing a system of differentiated access, reserved for certain groups, marking a shift toward a tiered and heavily restricted internet that is largely closed off to the overwhelming majority of the population. Everything indi
Iranians are living through one of the longest Internet shutdowns in history, with the authorities imposing a digital blackout since launching a bloody crackdown on antiestablishment protesters on January 8. While the authorities have quelled the weekslong demonstrations against Iran's clerical rulers with the use of unprecedented brute force, it remains unclear when they will restore access to the Internet. Even when services resume, Iranians could be permanently cut off from the global Interne
# Iranians are leaving the country just to access the internet. #### Iranians are leaving the country just to get internet. For the last month, she has been making the hours-long drive to Iran's border with Turkey every three days in order to use the internet for a few hours to contact her son, who is studying at a university in western Turkey. Since the beginning of the war more than a month ago, Iran's government has blocked its citizens from accessing the global internet, leaving only a few p
Iran's internet connectivity has been partially restored, but experts are warning that, even on the other side of the digital blackout,
On 8 January 2026, amid widespread protests and a violent government crackdown, the Iranian regime shut off all internet services, beginning one