Iran restored internet access on May 27 after an 88-day nationwide shutdown, one of the longest digital blackouts in modern history. The outage, which began in late February, cut off roughly 85 million Iranians from global communication networks, according to Reuters Canada.
The shutdown affected Iranians living abroad who rely on digital channels to maintain contact with family members in Iran. For Iranian permanent residents and citizens in Canada—estimated at over 210,000 people in the 2021 census—the blackout severed routine communication with relatives, disrupted remittance coordination, and complicated document gathering for immigration applications that require Iranian civil records. Previous internet disruptions in Iran lasted days or weeks; the 88-day span marks an escalation in duration and scope.
Iranians inside the country used the restoration to send delayed messages. Social media posts documented users greeting contacts "after 88 days," catching up on births, deaths, and family emergencies that occurred during the blackout. The shutdown blocked access to messaging apps, email services, and virtual private networks that Iranians typically use to bypass government filters.
The Iranian government has not issued a public statement explaining the shutdown's cause or the decision to restore access.