Iran began restoring public access to the global internet on Tuesday, ending what monitoring organisations describe as the longest nationwide shutdown in modern history — a blackout of 88 days that began on 28 February when the United States and Israel launched strikes against the Islamic Republic. Connectivity remained patchy on Wednesday, with mobile internet still largely cut off and many major platforms, including YouTube and Instagram, still heavily restricted. Internet monitoring firm Netblocks estimated that connectivity had returned to around 86% of pre-shutdown capacity, while internet analysis firm Kentik measured actual data traffic at only around 40%, suggesting that access, though technically restored, remained significantly constrained.

The relief at reconnection was immediate and visceral. Iranians described the moment as akin to being released from prison. One man told the BBC he nearly wept when he saw a webpage load. Families separated from relatives abroad rushed to use messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram to re-establish contact they had been denied for months. For those whose livelihoods depended on the internet — content creators, online retailers, tech workers — the shutdown had been economically devastating. A gamer and influencer in Isfahan, the large city in central Iran, said he had been "erased from the algorithm" after years building an audience on YouTube and Instagram. A member of Iran's Chamber of Commerce estimated the blackout cost roughly $30–40 million per day in direct losses, with indirect losses likely twice that figure. Around 10 million Iranians have jobs dependent on internet connectivity, according to the country's communications minister.

But alongside relief, the restored connection exposed a surge of public anger over economic hardship. Iranians flooded social media with complaints about soaring food prices, citing annual inflation of 308% for vegetable oil, 190% for chicken, and 170% for rice. IMF data placed overall food inflation between 140% and 200%, pushing headline inflation to around 70%. "Everything is so expensive. It has become a disaster," wrote one user. "You leave the market with a broken heart after spending all your savings." President Masoud Pezeshkian attributed the economic crisis to US sanctions and what he called "economic warfare," while the government announced a "resistance economy committee" to crack down on price gouging. Critics noted that hyperinflation was already endemic before the war, driven by trade sanctions, exchange rate pressure, and the reduction of trader subsidies earlier this year.

Iranian authorities framed the original shutdown as a military and security necessity, aimed at preventing surveillance, espionage, and cyberattacks during the conflict. In lifting restrictions, the government's first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, described the move as a "first step" toward "free and regulated" internet access, responding to directives from the president. However, the intelligence ministry warned that restored connectivity risked enabling "cognitive warfare" by Iran's adversaries seeking to "incite protesters." Netblocks noted that the restored internet actually featured heavier censorship than had existed before the January protests — with new restrictions applied to messaging services and app stores.

The shutdown was not without precedent: Iranian authorities had also cut internet access in January during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests, in which thousands were killed and tens of thousands detained. Many Iranians feared access could be severed again at any moment. Prominent voices called on the government to go further. Toomaj Salehi, a rapper who had been sentenced to death in 2024 for supporting the 2022 protests before his eventual release, wrote on X that internet access "is not a favour to us — it is our right." Human rights activist Emadeddin Baghi noted that for three months, Iranians' voices had "found no echo" beyond limited domestic platforms. A survey published Wednesday found that only 9% of Iranians supported maintaining internet restrictions.