OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
6:24 PM – Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued an order to resume internet access across the country following a devastating, months-long digital blackout, the Islamic Regime’s state media reported.
The report, published Monday, cited Iran’s Communications Ministry. The internet has so far partially been restored, according to The Times of Israel.
“The first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken,” Mohammad Reza Aref wrote on X on Tuesday.
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Independent internet monitoring groups Netblocks and Kentik confirmed the “partial” restoration of connectivity, though the Kentik warned that the vast majority of internal networks remain completely offline.
Internet access was strictly choked off for the Iranian public after anti-regime protests erupted across all 31 provinces in late December, driven primarily by the country’s collapsing economy. The systematic, months-long shutdown made it exceptionally difficult for the international community to monitor the safety of Iranian citizens, obscuring the total number of protestors killed by government forces and masking how civilians fared during Operation Epic Fury—the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign launched on February 28th, roughly two months after the domestic unrest began.
An Iranian refugee, who spoke to NewsNation under the condition of anonymity for safety, confirmed that some people are able to access the internet and have been able to communicate with Iranians in the country. The individual emphasized the dire situation in Iran.
“More and more people are being hastily sentenced to execution. People are barely surviving. Those with rare diseases, special medical conditions or illnesses, such as cancer, are among the first to pay the ultimate price with their lives,” the source told the outlet.
“Many food items, such as chicken and red meat, they cannot afford. People are selling their cars, homes and properties to survive,” the source added.
“The school year is almost over, and due to the internet blackout, … children are being left without proper education,” they continued.
Another refugee told the outlet in April that some Iranians were able to access the internet through illegal virtual private networks (VPNs), which had been outlawed in 2024 by the regime’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace under then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was subsequently killed during the opening wave of U.S. airstrikes in late February.
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