PARIS (France) (AFP) – Iranian authorities partially restored internet connectivity Tuesday after an almost three-month shutdown imposed against the backdrop of the war against Israel and the US, said a monitor, a senior official and sources inside the country._x000D_
_x000D_
The shutdown left Iranians largely cut off from international networks, with only a domestic intranet working for daily tasks like shopping, ride-hailing and education._x000D_
_x000D_
“Live metrics show a partial restoration to internet connectivity in Iran on day 88,” of the shutdown, monitor Netblocks said on X, saying it was “unclear” if this meant a permanent end to the “longest nationwide internet shutdown in modern history”._x000D_
_x000D_
Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said in a post on X that the “first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken,” adding that the demands of Iranians “will be fulfilled.”_x000D_
_x000D_
State news agency IRNA and Fars news agency said “full international internet connectivity has been restored” for users of fixed broadband services, but this had not been confirmed by internet monitor NetBlocks._x000D_
_x000D_
Witnesses inside Iran also told AFP that mobile internet remains cut but home internet with Wi-Fi had been restored, even though VPNs were still needed to access some social media._x000D_
_x000D_
“A few minutes ago I could open international websites using my home internet provider,” said a 22-year-old woman from the western city of Kermanshah, asking not to be named._x000D_
_x000D_
A user in Tehran said the internet service for his company in Tehran has been restored but “mobile connection remained the same” without any access. Others reported that general access remained extremely patchy._x000D_
_x000D_
‘LONG WAY TO GO’_x000D_
_x000D_
The shutdown imposed when war erupted on February 28 followed a similar blackout imposed from January 8 as the country was rocked by mass anti-government protests._x000D_
_x000D_
Activists said that the January closure was aimed at masking the scale of a crackdown on the protests, which left thousands dead according to rights groups, as well as preventing more demonstrations._x000D_
_x000D_
Doug Madory, head of internet analysis at US network monitoring firm Kentik, said the partial restoration needed to be kept “in perspective”._x000D_
_x000D_
“Iran has a long way to go to get back to pre-Jan-8 levels of traffic volumes,” he wrote on X._x000D_
_x000D_
The shutdown had also caused considerable debate inside Iran with the administration of President Masoud Pezeshkian — regarded as a more moderate figure — impatient to end a measure which was also hugely damaging for the economy._x000D_
_x000D_
However Pezeshkian by no means has the final say on such issues._x000D_
_x000D_
Yaghoub Rezazadeh, member of Iran’s national security commission at the parliament, told the Hamshahri daily Monday that the final decision on such issues “rests with the Supreme National Security Council” under hardliner Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr._x000D_
_x000D_
Iran’s judiciary earlier Tuesday suspended a fledging presidential body that had ordered the restoration of the internet._x000D_
_x000D_
The Special Headquarters for Organising and Governing the Country’s Cyberspace was formed on May 12 by Pezeshkian._x000D_
_x000D_
The body had on Monday reached a decision to “restore the internet” in Iran, according to government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani, after local media reported that Pezeshkian had decreed the measure._x000D_
_x000D_
Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to appear in public since his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the war, meanwhile is in theory the country’s number one figure._x000D_
_x000D_
Some Iranians expressed glee on social media over the restoration of a degree of connectivity._x000D_
_x000D_
“YouTube without a VPN!!! Oh my God, am I dreaming?” wrote one on X._x000D_
_x000D_
“Hello my dear Twitter,” said another, using the former name for X.
