"Welcome back!": Complete internet blockade in Iran ended after 88 days

The historic internet blockade in Iran has largely ended after 88 days, with only major social networks remaining blocked. This is shown by the data from various monitoring bodies; Netblocks has also welcomed the country back online. While the filters that were common before remain in place, they can be bypassed, the organization explained on Mastodon. Only on Monday did Iranian President Massud Peseschkian order the lifting of the internet blockade, referring to a recommendation from the Iranian Supreme Council of Cyberspace. This was followed by indications of disunity within the leadership of the Islamic Republic, making it unclear whether the internet blockade would actually end.

After the start of Israeli and US airstrikes on Iran, the regime largely cut off its population from the internet. There were only a few exceptions. In early March, the internet blockade had become the longest ever imposed on an entire state. The now-in-effect ceasefire has not changed this. After 60 days, the presidential office was forced to defend the measure against massive criticism. Only after a total of 2093 hours was the blockade now lifted, Netblocks has determined. Whether the release will hold is unclear. The Iranian judiciary has temporarily halted the lifting by court order, Euronews reported. Nevertheless, the internet returned. Because the internet was already blocked in January after mass protests, people in Iran were unable to access the internet for more than 110 out of 147 days this year.

The news agency dpa quotes Iranian media stating that access to the international internet has been restored for all private and business customers of the national telecommunications company via broadband connections. Reports from Iran indicated that people could once again reach friends and family abroad. Others remained offline, especially those who can only go online via mobile. During the internet blockade, only domestic services were available to most people in Iran, but important communication channels, especially Instagram, could not be used. This likely caused enormous economic damage, the extent of which is still unclear.

(mho)