Iran Sees Partial Internet Restoration After Three-Month Blackout

Web monitoring groups reported signs of partial internet restoration in Iran on Tuesday after more than 2,000 hours of government-imposed blackouts. Iran’s more than 90 million citizens have been without internet for most of 2026. The current blackout began February 28 when Israel and the United States attacked the country. A previous shutdown followed widespread protests in January.

Internet monitoring experts at Kentik, NetBlocks, and Cloudflare documented the partial restoration beginning Tuesday afternoon local time. Some fixed-line providers appeared to restore services, with the Telecommunication Company of Iran’s fiber-optic service around Tehran showing the largest gain.

“We do see some traffic coming from Iran,” said Amir Rashidi, a cybersecurity expert with the internet freedom organization Miaan Group. ” Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik, said mobile networks showed little change. He noted the current access level remained far below the partial restoration allowed at the end of January and throughout February.

Supreme National Security Council ordered the February shutdown as the war with the United States began. The Special Headquarters for Organizing and Governing the Country’s Cyberspace reportedly ordered restoration on Monday. The move drew a legal challenge in Iran’s High Court.

Iran’s communications minister said the reconnection would proceed per the president’s order and that the process would 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,” Rashidi said.

The limited reconnection comes as the United States government continues to negotiate with Iran about a permanent end to the war. Over the last decade, Iranian authorities have built a national intranet and implemented extensive content controls.