Iranian authorities began restoring partial internet access on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, ending an unprecedented 88-day nationwide digital shutdown.
President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered the reconnection after the country experienced the longest intentional internet blackout in modern history.
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Data from Cloudflare Radar showed an immediate 15-fold spike in web traffic and DNS queries, with Tehran accounting for 91.6 percent of the activity.
Network traffic returned to about 40 percent of early 2026 levels across major providers such as TCI, IranCell, RighTel, and MCCI.
Heavy Filtering Remains in Place
According to NetBlocks, Iran's extensive filtering systems—known as the "filternet"—remain highly active.
Users still need virtual private networks to bypass blocks on major communication apps, while mobile data connections stay heavily restricted in many regions.
The government first imposed the digital blockade on January 8 to suppress anti-government protests driven by severe inflation and currency collapse.
Connectivity briefly returned in February, but a second total blackout was enforced on February 28 after US and Israeli military strikes against Iran.
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First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref framed the policy shift on social media as a regulated step toward modernization, linking it to the development of national smart services.
"This isn't freedom," said Ellie, a 42-year-old artist from Tehran who connected to the internet for the first time since late February.
Many residents expressed deep skepticism about the security implications of the restoration.
Protesters and tech professionals reported that the network expansion appears designed to channel users into heavily monitored surveillance corridors.
"What an absolute joke," said Maryam, a Tehran-based photographer who noted that the partial restoration does not support her professional livelihood.
The reconnection allowed state-restricted content, wartime footage, and archival documentation of the January crackdowns to reach international audiences.
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Global privacy service Proton VPN reported a 6,000 percent increase in new registrations from Iranian users seeking secure access tools.
