Iranians Reconnect: A Flood of Delayed Protests and Grievances Emerge Online
After an unprecedented 88-day period of near-total internet isolation, Iranians are slowly but surely reconnecting to the global digital sphere. This re-emergence online has unleashed a torrent of long-suppressed social media posts, videos, and images, offering a stark, delayed account of the past three months. Early uploads are providing fresh perspectives on the widespread anti-government demonstrations that convulsed the nation between December 2025 and January of this year.
The Iranian authorities initially implemented a partial internet blackout on January 8th as a measure to quell the burgeoning protests. This shutdown was significantly intensified in February with the commencement of hostilities involving the United States and Israel. This week, after a gruelling 12-week blackout, President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a directive to reinstate international internet access, characterising it as a crucial step towards “free and regulated access to cyberspace.”
Among the most prominent and widely shared content are potent anti-regime messages and compelling videos documenting protests against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). These visual accounts, depicting citizens marching through streets, engaging in acts of property destruction, and vociferously chanting slogans such as “long live the Shah” and “death to Khamenei,” are rapidly gaining viral traction as connectivity gradually returns.
“Some people have only just managed to reconnect to the internet, and I think they’re only now beginning to upload those videos,” shared Mandana, a Tehran resident who has requested her name be changed for her safety, in a voice note. For many Iranians, this re-access marks the first time they are witnessing the true scale of the protests. “Watching the massive crowds that came out on January 8 and 9, honestly, even I didn’t realise that so many people had gone out to protest,” Mandana admitted, expressing her own surprise at the sheer number of participants.
The World Cut Off: Silencing Dissent Through Digital Isolation
Sepideh, another Tehran resident whose name has been altered for privacy, explained that the internet shutdown was a deliberate strategy by the regime to control the global narrative. “By shutting down the internet, the Islamic Republic ensured those images could not be seen at the time. It didn’t want the world to witness what was happening on the ground,” she stated. “That’s why they shut down the internet, because they were afraid the world would hear the voices of the Iranian people.”
This sentiment is echoed across numerous online posts. One user, sharing a video of the protests, wrote, “They had cut off the internet so the world wouldn’t see that in all the main streets of Iran, a sea of honourable and freedom-loving Iranians had taken to the streets in response to the Shah’s call to reclaim their country from the occupiers.”
The aftermath of these protests has been marked by conflicting reports on the death toll. Some organisations, including Iran International, a collective of journalists opposed to the regime, have reported figures exceeding 35,000 fatalities. In contrast, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has documented approximately 7,000 deaths. For some Iranians reconnecting online, the newly surfacing videos of the protest’s magnitude lend credence to the higher estimates. “Seeing how huge the crowds were, I’m starting to believe that yes, the regime really massacred 30,000 to 40,000 people in two days,” Mandana commented, her voice laced with disbelief and horror.
A Return to Scarcity: Anxiety, Slow Speeds, and Economic Hardship
The initial reactions to regaining internet access have been far from celebratory, characterised instead by a complex mix of anxiety, anger, and scepticism. “I don’t even know whether I should feel happy or upset, because they took away our basic rights for such a long time and now, they’ve only given a tiny part of it back,” Mandana expressed.
Data analysed by Kentik, a US internet traffic platform, indicates that current internet usage levels have not yet returned to those observed prior to the recent crackdown. “Even now, the internet they’ve restored is still extremely slow, and we still have to buy VPNs to use social media,” Mandana added. The cost of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) has also escalated since the war began, presenting another significant financial burden for Iranians already grappling with severe economic challenges as the conflict enters its fourth month.
“People are struggling even to afford the most basic necessities of life,” Mandana stated. However, she also noted a glimmer of hope for some: “Some people are happy the internet is back because at least now they can finally start their business and earn money again.”
This sentiment resonates strongly with Sepideh, whose livelihood was severely impacted. “[It] ruined my life and had extremely serious consequences for me personally,” she confided. As a content creator who has relied on the internet for her income for the past two decades, the shutdown brought her business to a complete standstill.
Mandana conveyed a sense of continued confinement, stating she felt “no sense of freedom.” She likened the situation to being moved “from a very, very tiny solitary confinement cell into a slightly bigger one.”
The ‘National Internet’: A Controlled Digital Realm
Iran operates with different tiers of internet access, including a localised network colloquially known as the “national internet.” This system is distinct from the global network that connects Iranians to the wider world. Dr. Ali Mamouri, a research fellow at Deakin University with prior experience as a lecturer in Iranian universities, explained that during the blackout, Iranians could still access this national network. “They had what they called the national internet, something similar to the Chinese situation,” he noted. “The government has been working for over a decade to establish all the necessary requirements for independent national internet.”
While essential services such as some educational websites and banking platforms remained accessible, their speed and overall accessibility were significantly diminished. “Even when I wanted to search for something, study a subject, or read a few articles, almost every website was blocked,” Mandana recalled. Dr. Mamouri cautioned that the restoration of the global network might face future disruptions, as “some of the government bodies are not agreeing to this decision that was made by the president.”
Betrayal and Resilience: A Nation’s Mixed Emotions
For Amir, an Isfahan-based resident who has also requested anonymity, his return to the online world was met with news of ongoing negotiations between the Iranian regime and the United States. He expressed a profound sense of abandonment among Iranians, feeling “stabbed in the back” and that the world was effectively making peace with the regime. “They feel they had been stabbed in the back and that the world was effectively reconciling with the regime,” Amir said, adding that Iranians had become “deeply disappointed” with America. “We feel betrayed,” he stated unequivocally. “I personally believe that even if America signs a deal with Iran, Israel will not back down.”
Negotiations have been in a protracted stalemate, with the prospect of a deal being “near” periodically floated by figures like Donald Trump and his administration. Significant obstacles remain for the US, Israel, and Iran to overcome before any agreement can be reached, including the regime’s nuclear program and ensuring freedom of navigation in the critical Strait of Hormuz.
However, according to Dr. Mamouri, the ongoing conflict has inadvertently bolstered the regime’s standing within Iran. “It gave a golden opportunity to the government to revive and to get more support from the nation, because during the war people saw damage to the infrastructure, to the society, killing innocent people, schools,” he observed. While this segment of the population may be small, Dr. Mamouri suggests it has been growing as individuals find themselves “stuck between two choices.” He elaborated, “Having a system running the country is very much better than removing it without any proper alternative, as they saw it in Afghanistan, in Libya, in Syria, in Iraq and so on.”
As more videos from nearly three months ago surface, Sepideh shared her complex emotional state: “I feel both heartbroken and inspired. Heartbroken by the loss of so many lives, yet inspired by the courage, dignity, and resilience of the Iranian people.”
