Internet access in Iran appeared headed for restoration Monday as President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered a rollback of months-long restrictions and an IRGC-affiliated outlet appeared to fall in line behind the decision after initially questioning its legality.
Earlier in the day, Pezeshkian ordered the Ministry of Communications to restore international internet access to its pre-January status, according to his spokesman.
ICT Minister Sattar Hashemi later told Shargh daily that the process of restoring the country’s internet access had begun.
The semi-official ISNA news agency reported that the order is expected to be implemented on Tuesday.
The shift in tone became apparent after the IRGC-affiliated Fars News agency first questioned whether the administration had the authority to issue such an order, arguing that because the restrictions were imposed by the Supreme National Security Council, only the same body could formally reverse them.
Hours later, however, Fars appeared to soften its position in an editorial describing the reopening as a necessary “technical and security” decision that would have happened “sooner or later” as cyber conditions improved.
The outlet said the restrictions had originally been imposed to prevent cyber espionage and protect critical infrastructure during wartime conditions and an unprecedented wave of cyberattacks.
While acknowledging criticism over the legal process behind the decision, Fars dismissed efforts to turn the issue into a political dispute and accused some reformist media outlets of exploiting the shutdown to deepen internal divisions during what it described as a “full-scale war.”
The president’s order followed the fourth meeting of the Special Task Force on Cyberspace Management, which ended with nine votes in favor and three against reconnecting Iran to the global internet, according to reports.
Peyman Jebelli, head of Iran’s state broadcaster, and Mohammad-Amin Aghamiri, secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, were among the strongest opponents of restoring international internet access, Faraz reported citing informed sources.
According to Faraz, both men remained firmly opposed to reconnecting the country to the global internet until the end of the meeting.
The report said Aghamiri’s position was particularly notable because the secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace is appointed by the president. Although Aghamiri was first appointed under the previous administration, Pezeshkian later retained him in the post.
Faraz said Aghamiri’s opposition had placed him at odds with the government at a time when Pezeshkian has publicly identified restoring internet access as one of his priorities.
The disruptions have entered their 13th consecutive week, blocking or severely degrading access to many global online services that freelancers, software developers and content creators rely on to compete internationally, Shargh reported on Monday.
While AI tools have dramatically reduced the cost of launching new businesses worldwide, the report argued that internet restrictions inside Iran are preventing local entrepreneurs from benefiting from the shift.
“Internet that was supposed to become the launch platform for a new generation of entrepreneurs has now turned into the biggest obstacle to establishing, growing and developing a new business,” the newspaper wrote.
Many young Iranians who could previously build businesses with little more than a laptop and free AI software are now struggling to access even basic online services because of filtering, unstable connections and rising infrastructure costs, Shargh said.
The report estimated direct economic losses from the disruption at more than 3000 trillion rials, roughly $4 billion, over a 60-day period. Daily losses for internet-dependent businesses were estimated at between $30 million and $40 million.
Tiered internet deepens pressure
The emergence of “internet pro” or tiered internet access has widened inequalities inside Iran’s digital economy by giving certain users and organizations access to higher-quality connections at sharply higher prices, added Shargh.
Large-volume internet packages for preferred users are being sold for more than 20 million rials (around $12), the newspaper reported, adding that the model has significantly increased operating costs for small software teams already struggling with inflation and currency depreciation.
The minimum wage in Iran currently stands at just over $90 per month.
The report described the current environment as one where international internet access is increasingly treated as a luxury rather than a public utility.
It said software companies face two immediate problems: rising infrastructure costs and the collapse of traditional digital marketing channels such as Google advertising and search visibility.
Under those conditions, businesses earning foreign currency revenue or reducing dependence on international infrastructure have become more attractive, according to the report.
AI lowers barriers but access remains limited
Advances in AI during the past two years, the report said, have sharply reduced software production costs worldwide by automating repetitive development work such as coding assistance, testing, documentation and early-stage interface design.
Tools including GitHub Copilot and AI coding assistants have increased software production speed by up to 50%, according to the report.
But the newspaper said Iranian developers are increasingly unable to reliably access many of the same tools because of internet instability and restrictions.
Software teams, the report said, are increasingly shifting toward direct marketing methods such as SMS campaigns, webinars and messaging-platform advertising because conventional online advertising tools have become less effective under filtering conditions.
Derakhshani-Mehr, a law student at Islamic Azad University, was shot dead during protests on January 9, a source familiar with the case said.
He was struck by a live bullet in the side and had also suffered metal pellet wounds to the left side of his body before the fatal shooting, the source said.
After he was transferred to Ganjavian hospital, his body was left alongside those of several other young protesters in the hospital grounds, according to witnesses and hospital staff cited by the source.
Witnesses said wounded protesters were denied treatment and that several people died because they did not receive medical care. Blood covered parts of the hospital grounds because of the severity of the injuries, they added.
Family searched hospitals and morgues
Derakhshani-Mehr’s family spent hours searching for him and went to the hospital, where officials initially denied he was there despite the family checking different wards.
Emergency personnel later told the family his body was being held in the hospital morgue, but security forces sealed the facility and prevented relatives from seeing him, the source added.
Family members were also given conflicting information by different authorities and were at one point told that he was still alive.
His body was eventually identified at the forensic medicine office in Ahvaz after being transferred there as an unidentified person, according to the account received by Iran International.
Before handing over the body, authorities forced the family to agree that the burial would take place at night and attended only by a small number of people. Derakhshani-Mehr was buried in Shahidabad cemetery in Dezful.
Night burials reported in earlier crackdowns
Security forces in Iran have previously buried slain protesters at night or without notifying their families.
In one case previously reported by Iran International, a 16-year-old boy named Reza who was killed during protests in Karaj was secretly buried by members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps without his family’s knowledge.
Witnesses said Reza was shot by a sniper around 9 p.m. on January 8 in the Shahin Vila neighborhood of Karaj. He later died after being moved to a residential parking area and then taken to a clinic.
People familiar with the case said the teenager’s family was informed the following day that members of the Revolutionary Guards had buried him overnight and disclosed the location of the grave afterward.
Akbari Feyzabadi had been convicted on charges including moharebeh, or waging war against God, “deliberate destruction of public property, disrupting public order and collusion against national security,” Judiciary news outlet Mizan said.
The court cited what it described as the defendant’s confessions about carrying a handgun, appearing in the streets and opening fire during the unrest in Naein county, the report said.
The Supreme Court, judiciary said, upheld the ruling after reviewing the case file and found no flaws in the verdict, which it said was based on evidence, documentation and the defendant’s statements.
Cases involving espionage and national security accusations in the Islamic Republic have long drawn scrutiny from rights groups and lawyers over allegations of forced confessions, torture, restricted access to independent lawyers and denial of fair trial guarantees.
With Akbari Feyzabadi’s execution, at least 38 prisoners convicted on political or security-related charges have been executed in Iran since March 18, according to a tally based on publicly reported cases.
Rights group HRANA had previously said at least 52 prisoners facing political or security-related charges were executed during the past Iranian year.
Lawmakers back executions
On May 4, 63 members of parliament issued a statement thanking the judiciary for carrying out death sentences against January protest detainees and urged Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei to take what they called decisive and public action against the “main elements” behind the protests.
The judiciary’s media outlet reported Sunday that another political prisoner, Mojtaba Kian, was executed after being convicted in Alborz province of sending information about defense industry sites to networks linked to the United States and Israel during attacks on Iran.
Iranian security forces have arrested thousands of people across the country on political and security-related accusations since the start of US and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.
