00:00Iranian President Orders End to 87-Day Internet Blackout Amid Clash with IRGC
00:06Tehran, May 26th
00:09In a major political shift, Iranian President Massoud Pejikian has ordered the restoration of nationwide internet access
00:16after nearly three months of a near-total digital blackout, one of the longest and strictest internet shutdowns in modern
00:23history.
00:24The Presidential Order
00:26On May 25th, President Pejikian issued a directive to the Ministry of Communications
00:31to restore international internet access to its pre-January status.
00:36Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi confirmed that the technical process of reconnecting the country to the global network
00:42has commenced, with full connectivity expected by Tuesday, May 26th.
00:47The President's order followed the fourth meeting of the Special Task Force on Cyberspace Management,
00:52which reportedly voted 9-3 in favor of restoring Iran's connection to the global internet.
00:57According to reports, the three opposing votes came from Payman Jebele, head of Iran's state broadcaster, IRIB,
01:06and Mohammed Amin Agamiri, Secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, a position appointed by the President himself.
01:14Timeline of the Blackout
01:16The internet blackout occurred in two phases.
01:19January 8, 2026
01:21Iranian authorities first imposed a nationwide internet shutdown in response to mass anti-government protests
01:29that erupted on December 28, 2025, triggered by a sharp currency collapse and soaring inflation.
01:36February 28, 2026
01:38After a brief period of restored access, a complete internet blackout was reimposed following the start of U.S. and
01:45Israeli strikes against Iran.
01:47The independent internet observatory NetBlox confirmed that Iran experienced 87 to 88 days of near-total isolation from global networks,
01:57the longest nationwide internet blackout in modern history.
02:01IRGC challenges presidential authority.
02:03The president's restoration order immediately sparked political pushback from conservative factions within Iran's military establishment.
02:12The Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC,
02:18initially questioned the government's legal authority to lift the restrictions.
02:22The outlet argued that because the decision to block the internet was originally issued by the Supreme National Security Council,
02:30the country's highest security body, any reversal must be mandated by that same council.
02:36However, within hours, Fars dramatically softened its position.
02:40In a subsequent editorial, it characterized the digital reopening as a necessary technical and security decision
02:47that would have happened sooner or later as cyber conditions improved.
02:51The outlet claimed the restrictions had originally been imposed to prevent cyber espionage
02:56and protect critical infrastructure during wartime conditions and an unprecedented wave of cyber attacks.
03:02Political Fractures Exposed
03:04The confrontation between President Pazeshkian and the IRGC over internet restoration
03:10highlights growing institutional fractures within the Islamic Republic's leadership.
03:14Further complicating the situation, Fars News later reported that Iran's judiciary has moved to suspend the presidential body that issued
03:23the restoration order.
03:24It remains unclear whether this legal challenge will affect implementation.
03:28The decision on a rollback of the blackout exposes fractures between Iran's executive branch and the defense apparatus, analysts have
03:36noted.
03:36The episode represents a rare public clash between the civilian president and the powerful military institution that answers directly to
03:44Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
03:46Economic Devastation
03:47The prolonged internet shutdown has inflicted severe damage on Iran's already battered economy.
03:53According to Afshin Kolahi, a member of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, the internet cutoff cost the economy an estimated $30
04:01to $40 million daily,
04:03with indirect losses potentially double that figure.
04:06Communications Minister Hashemi has stated that approximately 10 million jobs in Iran rely on internet connectivity.
04:13Sectors including retail, fitness, advertising, and small businesses have seen their revenues collapse during the blackout.
04:20Human Rights Concerns
04:22Human Rights Organizations have strongly condemned the internet shutdown as a deliberate tactic to hide state violence.
04:29Amnesty International's security lab described the blackout as a serious human rights violation in itself,
04:35noting that Iranian authorities have used internet shutdowns to hide the true extent of the grave human rights violations during
04:42the crackdown on protests.
04:43According to Amnesty International, at least 28 protesters and bystanders, including children,
04:51were killed in 13 cities across 8 provinces between December 31, 2025 and January 3, 2026,
04:59with reports that security forces intensified unlawful lethal force after imposing the internet shutdown.
05:06This blanket internet shutdown not only hides human rights violations,
05:11but amounts to a serious human rights violation in itself, said Rebecca White, a researcher at Amnesty International's security lab.
05:19The Iranian authorities have once again deliberately blocked internet access inside Iran to hide the true extent of the grave
05:28human rights violations and crimes under international law they are carrying out
05:32to crush the largest nationwide protests since the women's life freedom uprising in 2022.
05:39Long-term internet control plans.
05:42Experts have noted that Iran has been developing a plan to establish a closed national internet network,
05:48a walled garden similar to, but potentially even more restrictive than China's system.
05:54The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, IRIB, has previously published a list of domestically approved websites accessible within Iran,
06:03including local search engines, navigation services, messaging apps, and streaming services.
06:09According to Iranian digital technology expert Amir Rahibi,
06:13all these websites are part of Iran's efforts to build a national internet.
06:17It is a simplified network system, with restrictions even exceeding those of China,
06:22managed by the government and almost completely isolated from the outside world.
06:27Iran has previously shut down the internet to suppress protests in 2019,
06:322022, and most recently in late 2025.
06:36Implementation and Outlook
06:38Despite the political and legal challenges,
06:41independent internet monitor NetBlox confirmed that live metrics show internet connectivity in Iran has been partially restored.
06:49It remains unclear whether the restoration will be sustained amid the ongoing domestic political dispute.
06:56ICT Minister Hashemi confirmed to the Shark Daily newspaper that the restoration process is underway,
07:02with the goal of returning internet access to its pre-January status.
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