Iran’s judiciary on Tuesday suspended a presidential body that had ordered the restoration of internet access after months of near-total blackout imposed since the war with the United States and Israel began on February 28. The ruling, announced on the judiciary’s Mizan Online website, followed the “filing of complaints,” though it was not immediately clear who had submitted them. The decision targeted the Special Headquarters for Organizing and Governing the Country’s Cyberspace, a body formed on May 12 by President Masoud Pezeshkian to oversee internet and cyberspace management.
The presidential body had reached a decision on Monday to “restore the internet” in Iran, according to government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani, after local media reported that Pezeshkian had decreed the measure and that the directive had already been communicated to the Ministry of Communications. Despite the presidential order, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council holds the ultimate authority to restore the internet in the country and has final power to approve or reject any large-scale restoration.
Iranian authorities first imposed sweeping internet restrictions during large-scale anti-government protests that peaked in early January, before shutting access down again on February 28 at the start of the war. During the blackout, Iranians were largely limited to domestic platforms and websites hosted on the country’s intranet. By April 5, internet monitor NetBlocks said the shutdown was “the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record in any country”. In recent weeks, Iran introduced a tiered internet system known as “Pro Internet,” which granted broader access to selected groups of professionals for higher fees.
On Tuesday, live data from NetBlocks showed partial restoration of internet connectivity in Iran. However, the judiciary’s suspension of the presidential cyberspace body highlighted growing disagreements within Iran’s power structure over who controls internet policy and national security decisions. The body had been established only two weeks earlier to manage cyberspace governance, but its order to return internet access to pre-conflict levels was halted before full implementation. Even with Pezeshkian’s approval, officials have not announced a clear timeline for complete nationwide restoration, and Iran’s strict censorship system remains active.
