NetBlocks, the global internet monitor, announced that internet access in Iran is returning after months of widespread and near-total blackouts, with network connectivity levels now reaching approximately 86%. In its latest assessment on Tuesday, May 26, the organization wrote that internet connectivity is being restored across Iran and that mobile networks have reconnected to the internet. However, NetBlocks emphasized that internet censorship remains firmly in place, access to the WhatsApp messaging platform is still restricted, and certain regions of the country are still deprived of full internet access.
Concurrently, the Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) announced that international internet has been fully restored for its subscribers. According to a report by CITNA, the company has advised users to power-cycle their modems if they encounter any connectivity disruptions.
The new NetBlocks report was published hours after the watchdog reported a “partial return” of the internet in Iran following 2,093 hours of near-total isolation from international networks, a condition it has described as the longest nationwide internet blackout in contemporary history.
The gradual return of the internet comes as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had on Monday communicated the resolution of the “Special Task Force for Organizing and Steering the Country’s Cyberspace” to the Ministry of Communications to reconnect the internet. However, the Court of Administrative Justice issued a temporary injunction suspending the implementation of this resolution, declaring that until a final review regarding the legality of the task force’s formation is complete, its decisions remain unenforceable.
