Overview
- The order, issued Monday by President Masoud Pezeshkian and approved by a presidential cyber taskforce, directs the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology to return international connectivity to pre‑January levels.
- Independent monitors reported only partial, uneven returns of service on Tuesday and said the nationwide blackout largely remained in effect, leaving many users still reliant on home broadband, VPNs or illicit satellite links.
- Iran’s judiciary suspended the newly created presidential cyberspace body that approved the reopening, and hardline voices tied to the IRGC say only the Supreme National Security Council can lift the original security restrictions, creating a dispute over legal authority.
- The blackout, which lasted about 87–88 days, caused heavy economic losses and daily commerce disruption, pushed many Iranians onto costly circumvention tools and expanded unequal access such as ‘white’ SIMs and paid business packages.
- Even if international access is restored, officials plan to keep tight controls through the National Information Network and reported imports of advanced Chinese filtering hardware suggest selective, state‑monitored access will persist.