Internet Starts to Return in Iran After 3-Month Blackout | WIREDSkip to main contentMenuSECURITYPOLITICSTHE BIG STORYBUSINESSSCIENCECULTUREREVIEWSMenuAccountAccountNewslettersSecurityPoliticsThe Big StoryBusinessScienceCultureReviewsChevronMoreExpandThe Big InterviewMagazineEventsWIRED InsiderWIRED ConsultingNewslettersPodcastsVideoLivestreamsMerchSearchSearchMatt BurgessLily Hay NewmanSecurityMay 26, 2026 1:31 PMInternet Starts to Return in Iran After 3-Month BlackoutSome internet connectivity is returning in Iran after nearly 90 days offline, web monitoring groups say. But it isn’t clear if the reconnection is permanent.Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyAfter more than 2,000 hours of government-imposed connectivity blackouts, there were signs on Tuesday that Iran’s internet is coming back—at least at very low levels.Iran’s more than 90 million citizens have been without internet for the overwhelming majority of 2026, between the current blackout that began on February 28, when Israel and the United States attacked the country, and a previous internet shutdown enforced after widespread protests in January. The reconnection appears to have been ordered by officials in Iran’s government—but could only be temporary.Though some Iranian networks appeared to be connecting to the global internet on Tuesday, researchers cautioned that the level of access was far below even the partial restoration that Tehran allowed at the end of January and throughout February—and it was drastically below Iran’s typical baseline of global internet connectivity from December 2025. Internet monitoring experts at Kentik, NetBlocks, and Cloudflare began documenting the partial restoration of connectivity in Iran beginning in the early afternoon local time on Tuesday.“We do see some traffic coming from Iran,” says Amir Rashidi, a cybersecurity expert with the internet freedom organization Miaan Group. “Some providers have come back online, but it is still too early to say exactly what will happen. After the January protests, some providers were also reconnected, but around 50 percent of the country’s traffic remained down.”Doug Madory, the director of internet analysis at Kentik, says, “We’re not seeing much change for the mobile networks.” Instead, he says, some fixed-line providers have appeared to be restoring their services, with the Telecommunication Company of Iran’s fiber-optic service around Tehran showing the “biggest gain.”At the start of January, the Iranian regime entirely shut down internet connectivity as the state killed thousands of protesters who took to the streets demanding improvements to economic conditions in the country. The government then entirely cut connectivity again at the end of February when the United States and Israel went to war in Iran—leaving millions of Iranians unable to contact their families, damaging the local economy, and prohibiting news and video footage about the war from getting into and out of the country. The limited reconnection of internet services on Tuesday comes as the US government continues to negotiate with Iran about a permanent end to the war.Over the last decade, the Iranian regime has undertaken a massive project to control connectivity and censor content in the country while also building out a national intranet meant to essentially replace the global internet. This includes homegrown, surveillance-heavy tech such as search engines, messaging apps, and ride-hailing platforms. In practice, though, the regime’s digital mechanisms for control are often wielded as brute-force tools rather than precision instruments. It is unclear whether this is the result of technical limitations, political instability, or both.Iran’s Supreme National Security Council seemingly ordered the current internet shutdown at the end of February as the war with the US started. A different group formed by current Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian—known as the Special Headquarters for Organizing and Governing the Country's Cyberspace—reportedly ordered connectivity restoration on Monday, though the move drew a legal challenge in Iran’s High Court. Nevertheless, the Iranian communications minister said that the reconnection would move forward per the president’s order, and that the process is underway to restore connectivity within 24 hours.“What we are seeing now is an increase in traffic from Iran, but we need to wait and see the outcome of the power struggle,” Miaan Group’s Rashidi says. “Challenging the president’s order in court, given Iran’s political culture, was in a way a humiliation of Pezeshkian. So we should wait and see how this power struggle plays out.”Regardless of the political gamemanship, experts have been predicting for months that continued authoritarian rule in Iran will mean more impact on the country’s digital freedoms. Some warn that the country may never fully reconnect globally. “I think it would be quite optimistic to think that internet connectivity in Iran will return to pre-January 8th levels of access, which was already subject to censorship,” Madory says.And as connection to the outside world hangs in the balance for tens of millions of Iranians, the situation may also hinge heavily on precarious negotiations between Iran and the United States.CommentsBack to topTriangleYou Might Also LikeHow to find us: Add WIRED.com to your preferred sources in GoogleHow the Canvas hack threatened thousands of schoolsBig Story: I've covered robots for years—this one is eerily lifelikeOrbs, saucers, and flashes on the moon—here’s what’s in the UFO filesTake our survey: What does “home” mean to you?Matt Burgess is a senior writer at WIRED focused on information security, privacy, and data regulation in Europe. He graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in journalism and now lives in London. 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Some internet connectivity has begun to return in Iran following nearly ninety days of government-imposed disconnection, according to web monitoring groups. However, experts caution that this reconnection is likely temporary and its full extent remains unclear. The disruption followed previous shutdowns implemented by the Iranian regime, including one during public protests in January and a second enforced at the end of February due to the conflict between the United States and Israel. While some Iranian networks showed signs of connecting to the global internet on Tuesday, the level of access was extremely low, significantly below the partial restorations permitted earlier and drastically below Iran’s typical baseline connectivity from late 2025.

Internet monitoring experts from organizations including Kentik, NetBlocks, and Cloudflare documented this partial restoration. Cybersecurity expert Amir Rashidi noted that while some providers had come back online, the situation was too early to predict the outcome. Data from these experts indicates that fixed-line providers, specifically the Telecommunication Company of Iran’s fiber-optic service around Tehran, appeared to experience the most significant recovery. In contrast, the mobile networks showed little change.

The reconnection stems from orders issued by officials within the Iranian government, though the long-term stability of this access remains contingent on ongoing power struggles. The internet restrictions have been part of a broader, decade-long effort by the regime to control connectivity and censor content, alongside the development of a national intranet designed to supersede global internet access. The reasons for the current shutdown included the government's actions during the protests and the escalation of the war with the United States.

There is nuance regarding the authority behind the restoration. The Supreme National Security Council seemingly initiated the shutdown during the war, while a different group, the Special Headquarters for Organizing and Governing the Country's Cyberspace, reportedly ordered the restoration on Monday, leading to legal challenges within Iran. Experts, such as Rashidi, suggest that waiting to see the outcome of this internal power struggle is necessary before drawing definitive conclusions about the reconnection. Furthermore, some analysts predict that continued authoritarian rule in Iran may prevent the internet from fully regaining pre-blackout access levels, suggesting that a complete return to full global connectivity may not be achievable.