Iranian authorities plan to gradually restore internet access after a sweeping week-long shutdown imposed during anti-government protests.
TEHRAN: Iranian authorities are considering “gradually” restoring internet access after imposing a sweeping communications blackout across the country more than a week ago.
Local media reported the development late Saturday, though no further details were provided. On Sunday morning, a limited internet connection was possible from Tehran, though the vast majority of providers and mobile internet remain cut.
Outgoing international calls have been possible since Tuesday, and text messaging was restored Saturday morning. The Tasnim news agency, citing an unnamed source, said local messaging applications “will soon be activated” on Iran’s domestic intranet.
The unprecedented blackout was imposed as calls proliferated for anti-government demonstrations initially triggered by economic malaise. For days, text messages, international calls, and at times even local calls were cut off.
Iran has since relied on its intranet, which supports local media, ride-hailing apps, delivery services, and banking. State television has been promoting local messaging apps like Rubika, which was largely unavailable earlier in the week.
Even before the blackout, popular applications like Instagram, Facebook, X, Telegram, and YouTube had been blocked for years, requiring VPNs to bypass restrictions. The protests, which began on December 28, are seen as the biggest challenge to the leadership since the 2022 demonstrations following Mahsa Amini’s death.
The latest demonstrations appear to have subsided in recent days. Iranian officials have not given an exact death toll for the protests.
Norway-based Iran Human Rights reported that 3,428 people were verified killed by security forces, warning the actual toll could be several times higher. Other estimates place the toll at more than 5,000 and possibly as high as 20,000.
The opposition Iran International channel, based outside the country, said at least 12,000 people were killed, citing senior government and security sources. Iran’s judiciary has completely rejected that figure.
Iranian officials have said the demonstrations were peaceful before turning into “riots” that included vandalism of public property. Authorities have blamed foreign influence, namely from the United States and Israel.
On Saturday, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “a few thousand” people had been killed by what he called “agents” of the two countries who instigated the unrest.
