Iran Vice President Says First Steps Taken to Restore Internet

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref says the government has taken the first steps to restore internet access after a near-total blackout that followed the war involving Iran, the United States and Israel.

“The first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken,” Aref wrote on X, according to AFP. He added that the demands of Iranians “will be fulfilled.”

What changed?

The statement is a public signal that the government wants to show movement after months of severe restrictions. It follows President Masoud Pezeshkian’s order to restore international internet access and return connectivity toward pre-January conditions.

The National reported that Iran’s Special Task Force for Cyberspace Management backed a return to prewar conditions, though final procedural steps and the timing of full restoration remained unclear.

Is the internet back?

Not fully, based on available reporting. Roya News said independent monitoring had not yet detected a significant rebound in network traffic after the order, and communications officials indicated restoration could take several days.

That makes Aref’s statement important but not conclusive. It confirms political movement from inside the government, not a verified nationwide return of open access.

Why this matters

The blackout cut most Iranians off from the global internet and pushed users onto domestic services or tightly controlled access systems. The National reported more than 2,000 hours of disruption and said most of Iran’s roughly 90 million people were pushed away from the global web.

Officials have increasingly acknowledged the economic damage. The National quoted Aref saying: “We cannot say we are helping people while not trusting them and shutting down the internet.”

What is still unclear

The big question is whether the order survives institutional resistance. Previous reporting said the judiciary suspended the presidential cyberspace body behind the restoration order after complaints, creating a legal obstacle to implementation.

So the current state is mixed: Iran’s government is saying restoration has begun, but outside observers and news reports have not yet confirmed a full practical return of international internet access.

NoDechev rating: verified government claim, implementation unconfirmed. Aref says the first step has been taken; independent evidence of a full nationwide restoration is still limited.