Iran's internet flickers back on despite judicial halt, reports claim
Live metrics show partial restoration of connectivity after President Pezeshkian ordered the international internet to be reopened, but an Iranian court has suspended the order before it could fully take effect, leaving Iranians in legal and digital limbo on day 88 of the country's longest blackout.
By Euronews Persian
Published on 26/05/2026 - 15:52 GMT+2
Iran is picking up a signal from the outside world on Tuesday for the first time after 88 days of blackout, according to reports — but a court has moved to block the presidential order that triggered the reconnection, halting the measure from taking effect until a final judicial ruling.
In a press release on Tuesday, the Administrative Justice Court said it had stopped the enforcement of the “document establishing the Special Committee for Organising and Managing Cyberspace” after accepting complaints seeking its annulment.
The court, operating under the judiciary, handles public complaints against government bodies and administrative decisions. It is empowered to issue interim injunctions suspending contested regulations before a full legal review.
The case challenging the cyberspace committee’s founding document has now been placed on an expedited review track.
Iranian media reported Monday that the Headquarters for the Steering and Regulation of Cyberspace, chaired by Mohammad Reza Aref, the first vice-president in Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration, had met and approved “restoring the internet to the situation before the month of January 2026”.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has also instructed the minister of communications to reopen access to the international internet, according to reports.
At the same time, the ISNA news agency, quoting an informed source, reported that with the order to reconnect the internet from the minister of communications and information technology, “the connection process is under way and within the next 24 hours this access will be available to everyone”.
Aref said in a post on X on Tuesday afternoon that "the first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken."
"With the reopening of the internet, smart services will be facilitated, public demands — of those who have stood firmly by the system and Iran — will be met, and barriers to knowledge-based development and scientific leadership will be removed," he added.
Different versions of events
Live metrics have shown partial restoration of internet connectivity in Iran on Tuesday, but it remains unclear whether the restoration will be sustained.
Meanwhile, conflicting reports about the restoration of internet access continue to emerge.
The CITNA news agency reported on Tuesday that, following Pezeshkian’s order to the minister of communications to reopen the international internet, “fixed-line internet” is being reconnected.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ehsan Chitsaz, deputy for policy-making and planning for ICT development and the digital economy at the Ministry of Communications, said that “within minutes the first connections to the international internet will be established and, gradually, people will witness the phased reopening of the internet."
“Within the next 24 hours, everyone will be connected to the international internet," Chitsaz said.
“The Cyberspace Headquarters concluded yesterday that the internet should be reopened, and the president’s order has been communicated to the Ministry of Communications," government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Tuesday morning.
She expressed hope that the internet would be restored “within the coming days”.
At the same time, NetBlocks, the organisation that monitors internet access, has reported that despite claims of internet reconnection in Iran, people inside the country remain cut off from the network.
According to this organisation, the digital blackout in Iran has now entered its 88th day, more than 2,088 hours of isolation from the outside world.
