Networks
Traffic surges back, though authorities maintain limited controls
Iran’s authorities have announced that the country will reconnect to the global internet.
Following the attacks by the United States and Israel in February, Iran’s outbound traffic fell to roughly one percent of normal levels, with the remaining flow limited to a small group of government and military users.
On Tuesday, Vice‑President Mohammad Reza Aref posted on X that “the first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken.” Shortly thereafter, NetBlocks and Cloudflare reported a substantial rebound in inbound and outbound traffic—the first notable increase in 88 days.
Network‑monitoring firm Kentik considers Iran’s disconnection the longest since Libya’s six‑month shutdown in 2011.
Internet analyst Doug Madory highlighted its greater significance, noting that Iran’s population is fifteen times larger than Libya’s.
“Beyond the sheer number of people cut off, this shutdown is unusual because Iran employed a sophisticated whitelisting system that allowed internet access for select individuals and organizations while blocking it for the rest,” he wrote in April.
NetBlocks believes content filtering remains in place “but can be worked around,” and it has observed new restrictions on Meta’s WhatsApp messaging service.
The government has historically blocked external connections for national‑security reasons, especially during conflicts and internal unrest, to limit citizens’ ability to share information abroad and to complicate potential cyber‑attacks.
Vice‑President Aref said that restoring connectivity will streamline “smart services” and remove “obstacles to knowledge‑based development and scientific authority,” though he offered no detailed rationale for the timing of the reconnection. Reports suggest internal disagreement within the administration over the decision to restore internet access.