Iran judiciary suspends presidential body after it ordered internet access restored

Judiciary says decision comes after ‘filing of complaints’ over restoration of internet access after country’s longest-ever digital blackout

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s judiciary on Tuesday suspended a presidential body that had ordered the restoration of internet access after months of near-total blackout since the war with the United States and Israel.

The judiciary’s Mizan Online website said the ruling suspending the presidential body followed the “filing of complaints,” though it was not immediately clear who had submitted them.

The decision targeted the Special Headquarters for Organizing and Governing the Country’s Cyberspace, a body formed on May 12 by President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The body had on Monday reached a decision to “restore the internet” in Iran, according to government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani, after local media reported that Pezeshkian had decreed the measure.

Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, holds the ultimate authority to restore the internet in the country.

Iranian authorities first imposed sweeping internet restrictions during large-scale anti-government protests that peaked in early January, before shutting access down again on February 28 at the start of the war.

During the blackout, Iranians were largely limited to domestic platforms and websites hosted on the country’s intranet.

In recent weeks, Iran introduced a tiered internet system known as “Pro Internet”, which, according to Iranian media, granted broader access to selected groups of professionals for higher fees.

By April 5, internet monitor NetBlocks said the shutdown imposed after the outbreak of war was “the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record in any country.”

Israel and the US launched their campaign against Iran in a bid to destabilize the regime and destroy its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities. Iran responded with missile and drone strikes across the region, including at Israel.

A ceasefire began on April 8 while the US and Iran hold mediated talks to reach a more permanent truce. Monday’s decision to lift internet restrictions came amid speculation that the two sides were closing in on a deal.