Iran authorities have said they are considering “gradually” restoring internet access after imposing a communications shutdown 10 days ago, as nationwide protests in the country began to subside following a crackdown by security forces.
Demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years.
Iranian officials have said the demonstrations were peaceful before turning into “riots” and blamed foreign influence, namely from Iran’s foes, the United States and Israel.
The rallies subsided after the crackdown carried out by security forces amid a communications blackout that started on January 8 as the protests grew in size and intensity.
Government officials have said calm has been restored, with schools reopening on Sunday — Iran’s weekend falling on Thursday and Friday — after a week of closure.
Late Saturday, the Tasnim news agency reported “the relevant authorities announced that internet access would also be gradually restored”, but gave no further details.
Citing an unnamed “informed source”, the agency said local messaging applications “will soon be activated” on Iran’s domestic intranet.
AFP was able to connect to the internet from its Tehran office, though the vast majority of internet providers and mobile internet remain cut.
Outgoing international calls have been possible since Tuesday, and text messaging was restored on Saturday morning.
