Iran signals moves to reconnect to global internet after wartime blackout

South China Morning Post · 🇭🇰 public Hong Kong · May 26, 2026 · 247 words · By Reuters

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What to know about Iran signals moves to reconnect to global internet after wartime blackout

Iran signals moves to reconnect to global internet after wartime blackout Presidential decree aims to restore connectivity to its pre-war state after almost 90 days of digital isolation Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued an order to reopen…

Claims checked 8

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center86%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

The report cited the head of public relations at Iran’s Communications Ministry.

Common ground

The mechanism for how and when Iran would reconnect to the global web following the decision was unknown.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What terms are actually in the Iran proposal, and which side would have to compromise first?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued an order to reopen international internet access?
What happens next if the deal stalls, and who has the power to restart talks?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3354813/irans-president-orde…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

8 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 3

info Single Source 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

cancel Disputed 1

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“Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued an order to reopen international internet access”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results confirm that President Masoud Pezeshkian issued an order to restore international internet access on Monday.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of the presidents of the Islamic Republic of Iran since the establishment of that office in 1980. The president of Iran is the highest popularly elected official in the country. The cur…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_Iran

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Masoud Pezeshkian (born 29 September 1954) is an Iranian politician and heart surgeon who has served as the ninth president of Iran since 2024. A member of the reformist faction, he is the oldest pers…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoud_Pezeshkian

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Masoud Pezeshkian is the ninth president of Iran. He took the position on 28 July, after the presidential election that was held in Iran in June–July 2024. His presidential decree was signed on July 2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Masoud_Pezeshkia…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“Iranian state media reported on Monday, citing an official after a near-90-day blackout in the wake of the war against US and Israel.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results and Wikipedia entries for '2026 Iran war' and '2026 Internet blackout in Iran' confirm a near-total blackout following US and Israeli strikes on February 28, 2026, and that state media reported the restoration.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On June 22, 2025, the United States Air Force and Navy attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran as part of the Twelve-Day War, under the code name Operation Midnight Hammer. The Fordow Uranium Enrich…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_States_strikes_on_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel have been engaged in a war with Iran and its regional allies. The conflict began when the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, targeting mili…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran_war

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Iran–Israel conflict is a long-standing geopolitical and military confrontation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the State of Israel, involving proxy hostilities since 1985 and direct clas…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Israel_conflict

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

“The report cited the head of public relations at Iran’s Communications Ministry.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this specific claim consists of irrelevant search results regarding Xbox and Microsoft support; no evidence confirms the specific official cited.

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web search NEUTRAL — Find out how to report a player on Xbox who has behaved in an inappropriate way or posted inappropriate content.
https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/family-online-safety/enf…

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web search NEUTRAL — Oct 14, 2025 · Learn how to use the PC Health Check app to help you improve your device performance.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-use-the-p…

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web search NEUTRAL — Overview of how we’ve partnered with Experian® to bring world class identity theft monitoring to Microsoft Defender. Defender’s Identity Theft Monitoring consists of four major components: dark web mo…
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/defender/getting-started…

info

““The decree aimed at restoring internet access to its pre-January state was communicated to the Ministry of Communications by the president,” Iranian news agencies Tasnim and Fars reported.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the general event of the decree is corroborated, the specific attribution to Tasnim and Fars news agencies is not independently confirmed across multiple sources in the provided evidence, though the agencies themselves are verified as existing.

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web search NEUTRAL — TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, in separate messages to Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, congratulated the Lebanese…
https://www.tasnimnews.ir/en

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web search NEUTRAL — Aug 25, 2013 · Tasnim News Agency (@Tasnimnews_EN) - Posts - Official twitter account of the Tasnim News Agency English website | X (formerly Twitter)
https://x.com/Tasnimnews_EN

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web search NEUTRAL — Tasnim News Agency (Persian: خبرگزاری تسنیم) is a semi-official news agency in Iran [2] associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). [3] Launched in 2012, its purpose is to cover a va…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasnim_News_Agency

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“Most Iranians have been unable to access the World Wide Web for 87 days according to the internet observatory NetBlocks on Monday”

CORROBORATED

Both web search results and Wikipedia entries specifically mention NetBlocks reporting an 87-day period of restricted access for most Iranians.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 8 January 2026, the twelfth day of the 2025–2026 protests in Iran, Iranian authorities imposed an internet blackout. Reports from Iran described widespread telephone and internet blackouts in Tehra…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Internet_blackout_in_Iran

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of netwo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Internet censorship in Pakistan refers to measures implemented by the government to regulated and restrict access to online content, including information transmitted through the internet and social m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_Pakista…

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verified

“Authorities initially imposed an internet blackout from January 8 in response to nationwide anti-government protests”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia ('2026 Internet blackout in Iran') and web search results explicitly state that authorities imposed an internet blackout on January 8, 2026, in response to nationwide protests.

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web search NEUTRAL — On 8 January 2026, the twelfth day of the 2025–2026 protests in Iran, Iranian authorities imposed an internet blackout. Reports from Iran described ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Internet_blackout_in_Iran

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web search NEUTRAL — Jan 9, 2026 ... Following an internet and telecommunications blackout imposed by Iranian authorities on 8 January 2026, as nationwide protests intensified since ...
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/01/internet-shut…

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web search NEUTRAL — 20 hours ago ... Iran shut down the internet on January 8 during anti government protests and imposed a second full blackout on February 28 after US and ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DYzzyw_GdMa/

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“connections gradually getting back to normal in February”

DISPUTED

One source mentions internet starting to come back, but Wikipedia evidence for February 16 shows traffic levels were still reduced by 50% and prices had increased, suggesting a partial or unstable recovery rather than a return to 'normal'.

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web search NEUTRAL — As of 16 February, internet traffic levels in Iran were reduced by 50%. In February 2026, internet prices increased by 18%, bringing the total increase to 52%.Missing: gradually | Show results with:gr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Internet_blackout_in_Iran

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web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · Most Iranians have been unable to access the worldwide web for 87 days according to the internet observatory NetBlocks on Monday, with only a ...
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-president-or…

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web search NEUTRAL — 22 hours ago · “Metrics show Iran has now been offline for over 12 hours as authorities impose a nation-scale internet shutdown, citing Israel's alleged ' ...
https://www.facebook.com/Dailymirroronline/posts/internet-st…

verified

“a new blackout was initiated following the start of US and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia entries for '2026 Iran war' and '2026 Internet blackout in Iran' confirm that US and Israeli strikes occurred on February 28, 2026, triggering a renewed internet blackout.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since the 2026 Iran war began with a series of attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran on 28 February 2026, following the breakdown of US-Iran talks and negotiations, locations across Isr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iranian_strikes_on_Israel

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.