After 88 days of near-total internet isolation, Iran partially restored online access on May 26, but recent developments suggest the country may be moving toward a more permanent and tightly controlled internet system. Reports indicate that President Masoud Pezeshkian favored restoring broader internet access, while hardline factions within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) pushed for maintaining a near-total blockade.
Mohammad Sarafraz, a member of Iran’s Supreme Cyberspace Council, stated that IRGC-linked factions are seeking to sharply restrict public access to the global internet while offering broader connectivity to only select groups. He further claimed that Iran has imported Chinese equipment capable of enabling a “permanent internet shutdown.”
Experts warn that Iran is increasingly adopting a Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-style model of digital control. Laura Edelson noted that such systems rely on centralized censorship, surveillance, and selective information access, while Max Meizlish warned that China’s export of these technologies to Iran raises growing human rights concerns over digital repression and state surveillance.
Source: Epoch Times, May 27, 2026
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/26/5/26/n14774868.htm