Iran’s telecoms chief says internet will be restored imminently after a nationwide blackout imposed during deadly anti-government protests.
PARIS: The head of Iran’s telecoms company told local media on Saturday that internet service would be restored “today or tomorrow”.
The Fars news agency reported that the Supreme National Security Council approved the reconnection on Friday night.
“God willing, this issue will be resolved today or tomorrow,” Behzad Akbari, chief executive of the Telecommunications Infrastructure Company, was quoted as saying.
The company is responsible for telecoms infrastructure across the country.
Fars also reported a brief resumption of international internet access which was cut off again after about 30 minutes.
Internet monitor Netblocks registered the brief restoration of connectivity.
Communications ministry officials told Fars that restoring full connectivity would take time due to technical complexities.
Iran severed its digital connections to the world on January 8 during major protests sweeping the country.
Under the cover of the blackout, authorities launched a deadly crackdown on protesters.
Rights groups have documented several thousand dead, with the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights saying the final figure could top 25,000.
The Iranian government has put the official toll at 3,117.
Earlier on Saturday, Yousef Pezeshkian, the son of President Masoud Pezeshkian and a government adviser, called for connectivity to be restored.
He said keeping the internet shut will create dissatisfaction and widen the gap between the people and the government.
“This means those who were not and are not dissatisfied will be added to the list of the dissatisfied,” he wrote in a Telegram post.
Such a risk, he said, was greater than that of a return to protests if connectivity were restored.
