Iran’s Internet Back After Over 80 Days of Darkness. But Donald Trump’s Sanctions Have Left the Country in Digital Ruins
Disconnected and divided.
Iran’s internet is flickering back to life after a brutal 88-day blackout, but the damage is already done. As of Tuesday afternoon, May 26, 2026, connectivity slowly started returning, though it’s still just a fraction of what it used to be. NetBlocks, the watchdog tracking global internet traffic, confirmed that Iran had been completely cut off from the outside world for a staggering 2,093 hours, the longest such outage ever recorded for any country.
According to The Guardian, at its peak, the restoration only hit about a third of pre-blackout levels, and experts say what’s coming back is “selective” at best. The blackout officially began during January’s economic protests but spiraled into a full-blown digital siege after war broke out on February 28. For nearly three months, Iran’s 85 million people were left in the dark, cut off from global platforms, businesses, and even basic communication tools.
The government’s reasoning was clear: control. Security officials feared that free access to the internet would fuel more unrest, especially as protests raged and executions surged. Amnesty International reported that Iranian authorities have executed at least 36 people on politically motivated charges since the crackdown began, with another 78 dissidents still on death row.
The economic fallout has been catastrophic
An estimated 5 million jobs in Iran depend on the internet, and the blackout pushed an already struggling economy to the brink. Inflation has skyrocketed, with food prices spiraling out of reach for many families. Chicken, a staple in Iranian diets, has become a luxury item. Female workers, particularly in rural areas, have been hit hardest, with countless small businesses collapsing under the weight of the shutdown.
The Tehran Electronics Association surveyed over 900 companies and found that losing access to WhatsApp, Telegram, and Instagram wiped out 75% of their communication channels. More than 223,000 people have applied for government unemployment insurance since the war began, a small but telling sign of the crisis.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, who campaigned on promises of a free internet, finally pushed for the blackout to end after weeks of lobbying security officials. The government’s communications minister Sattar Hashemi admitted the damage was severe. “Internet restrictions in recent months have caused significant harm to the digital economy, online businesses, and the country’s service industries,” he said.
“The continuation of this situation could have led to the weakening of investment, the emigration of elite human resources, and the expansion of communication patterns outside the framework of the country’s official governance.” His words paint a grim picture of an economy on life support, with talent fleeing and businesses scrambling to adapt.
But don’t expect a full return to normal anytime soon
The restoration is happening in fits and starts, with some residential fiber networks in Tehran and a few mobile providers coming back online, while others, like IranCell, flickered on briefly before dropping out again. Data from Kentik, a US-based internet analysis firm, showed that Iran’s connectivity was still below 10% of pre-shutdown levels as of Tuesday.
Doug Madory, an expert at Kentik, called the restoration “selective.” This suggests the government is still tightly controlling who gets access and what they can see. Iranian officials have long blamed social media and satellite channels for spreading “anti-government propaganda,” but the reality is far darker. The shutdown provided cover for a brutal crackdown, with security forces arresting protesters, dissidents, and even foreigners accused of “espionage.”
Al-Monitor reports that in April, four people, including two foreigners, were arrested in northwest Iran for allegedly smuggling Starlink satellite internet equipment. Authorities claimed they were part of a US- and Israel-linked network, a charge that’s become a common excuse for crushing dissent.
To soften the blow of the blackout, the government rolled out a program called “Internet Pro,” which offered limited, paid access to foreign websites with strict daily usage caps. But the cost was prohibitive for most young people, leaving many with no choice but to rely on VPNs or risk using smuggled tech.
Even before the war, platforms like Instagram, X, and YouTube were officially blocked, though Iranians routinely bypassed restrictions with VPNs. Ironically, the country’s political elite are some of the most active users of X, despite it being technically illegal.
The fight over internet freedom isn’t over yet
Just as connectivity started returning, an Iranian court stepped in to suspend the very body overseeing the reopening. The Administrative Court of Justice temporarily halted the work of the “Special Headquarters for Organizing and Governing the Country’s Cyberspace,” a new government body created by Pezeshkian to manage internet policy.
The court’s ruling means all decisions from the cyberspace body are now on hold pending a judicial review. The move highlights deep divisions within Iran’s power structure over how much control to exert over the internet, even as the country teeters on the edge of economic collapse.
First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref, who heads the cyberspace body, tried to put a positive spin on the partial restoration. “With the reopening of the internet, smart services will be facilitated, public demands of those who have stood firmly by the system and Iran will be met, and barriers to knowledge-based development and scientific leadership will be removed,” he said.
But his words ring hollow for the millions of Iranians who have lost their livelihoods, their connections, and their voices over the past three months. For now, Iran’s digital landscape remains a patchwork of limited access, government surveillance, and economic ruin.
(Featured image: Nvss132)
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