Iranians are back online after a monthslong shutdown but face heavy restrictions

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. World Iranians are back online after a monthslong shutdown but face heavy restrictions May 28, 20262:07 AM ET By The Associated Press A woman checks her smartphone while sitting on a bench along a sidewalk in northern Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption toggle caption Vahid Salemi/AP CAIRO — Iranians began to regain internet access on Wednesday after authorities ended a monthslong shutdown. But users said service was slow and spotty in some areas, with apps like YouTube and Instagram heavily restricted, as they were before the cutoff began during nationwide protests in January.

World Some people in Iran have kept internet access despite government-imposed blackout Authorities justified the outage as a military imperative after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. Their decision to lift some restrictions this week came as negotiators appeared to be closing in on a more permanent truce. But many Iranians feared access could be cut off again at a moment's notice.

The Details

Internet tracking company Netblocks said Iran's connectivity, which measures the ability of devices to connect to the internet, is at around 86% of capacity from before the cutoff. Internet analysis firm Kentik said internet traffic, which measures the amount of data transferred and is a good illustration of usage, was at around 40%. Sponsor Message Amir Rashidi, an Iranian cybersecurity analyst, said there were still widespread disruptions.

"It's too early to say the shutdown is over," he wrote on X. An unprecedented shutdown Iran's roughly 90 million people have been cut off from the internet for most of 2026, one of the world's longest and strictest national shutdowns. Young people with online careers saw their incomes evaporate.

Job losses and the closure of online businesses added to the war's steep economic costs. Middle East Internet blackout causes huge damage to Iran economy The cutoff made it difficult for Iranian families to communicate through months of unrest and war. At some points, phone lines were also cut off, though they were later restored.

What Experts Say

A woman living in Tehran said that for months she was barely able to speak to her sons living abroad. She couldn't believe authorities had restored access, saying she had assumed they would find some justification to prolong the outage. A taxi driver said service was restored but weak.

He expressed hope it would improve so he could use messaging apps with family and friends. Both spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Prices spiked during the shutdown, with residents in Tehran at times paying around $7.

Prices are back down to around $2. 25 for 30 gigabytes, roughly where they were before the protests. Sponsor Message Even then, Iran tightly controlled access to popular social media sites, leading many to rely on virtual private networks, or VPNs.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.