Iran’s top telecommunications official has promised that nationwide internet access will be restored “today or tomorrow,” offering a flicker of hope after days of digital isolation during one of the country’s deadliest protest crackdowns.
Speaking to local media on Saturday, Behzad Akbari, chief executive of the state-run Telecommunications Infrastructure Company, said authorities were moving toward reconnecting the country. According to the Fars news agency, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council approved the decision late Friday and formally informed the communications ministry.
“God willing, this issue will be resolved today or tomorrow,” Akbari said, as quoted by Fars. His company oversees Iran’s core telecom infrastructure, making it central to any nationwide restoration of service.
Fars also reported a brief return of international internet access earlier, which lasted roughly 30 minutes before being cut again. Internet monitoring group NetBlocks independently confirmed the short-lived restoration, underscoring both the technical fragility and political sensitivity surrounding connectivity.
Officials from the communications ministry told Fars that a full restoration would not be instant, citing “technical complexities” caused by the prolonged shutdown.
Iran severed most digital links with the outside world on January 8, as widespread protests swept across the country. During the blackout, authorities launched an intense crackdown. Human rights organizations say the lack of connectivity made it harder to document events on the ground. Several groups report thousands of deaths, with Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights warning that the final toll could exceed 25,000.
The Iranian government disputes those figures, stating that 3,117 people were killed. Officials say 2,427 of them were “martyrs,” a term used to separate security forces and civilians from those authorities describe as “rioters” allegedly incited by foreign powers, including the United States and Israel.
Earlier on Saturday, Yousef Pezeshkian, son of President Masoud Pezeshkian and a government adviser, publicly urged the restoration of internet access. In a Telegram post later cited by state news agency IRNA, he warned that keeping the internet shut would deepen public frustration.
“Keeping the internet shut will create dissatisfaction and widen the gap between the people and the government,” he wrote. He added that continued restrictions risked turning previously neutral citizens into critics, arguing that this danger outweighed the possibility of renewed protests once connectivity returned.
