An 88-day blackout in Iran ends… Behind the scenes of the longest digital isolation in modern history
An 88-day blackout in Iran ends… Behind the scenes of the longest digital isolation in modern history
2026-05-27
Shafaq News – Follow-up
The Iranian street breathed a sigh of relief after 88 days of total digital isolation, as global internet service began to flow again on lines and phones, thus closing the chapter on the longest and strangest period of network outage the world has witnessed in its modern history.
The global network began to return slowly and gradually since Tuesday evening (May 26, 2026), and on Wednesday most of the telecommunications companies, mobile phone providers and landlines in Iran have fully restored their connection to the international system.
The spark of war and survival on the “local network”
The chapters of this unprecedented crisis began on February 28th. With the first hours of the Israeli and American attacks on Iran and the outbreak of military confrontations, the authorities rushed to disconnect the country from the outside internet as a strict security and military measure, and were content with operating what is known as the “national internet” isolated from the world.
But the strange thing, which opened a wide door to sharp criticism and controversy within Iranian circles, is that the war ended only 40 days after it broke out and a ceasefire was declared, but the decision to block the internet remained in effect by order of the officials for another 48 days after the calming down, which paralyzed the movement of markets and the joints of daily life.
Behind the scenes of the decision to return
The breakthrough in the Iranian digital file finally came after a meeting of the “Special Committee for Regulating and Directing Cyberspace” chaired by Mohammad Reza Aref, where the decision was made to restore things to normal, and the President of the Republic informed the Ministry of Communications to immediately lift the technical restrictions and begin connecting the network.
Although the official justifications over the past three months have centered on “security reasons and the course of battles,” this long and harsh experience will put Iran under the microscope of observers and experts for a long time, as the first real and practical test in the world of completely isolating a country from the international digital system in times of war.
shafaq.com
