‘This isn’t freedom’: anger, anxiety and tears as Iran’s internet flickers back

After 88 days of near-total blackout, first reactions to the return of partial connectivity were not celebratory

After 88 days of near-total internet blackout in Iran, long-delayed messages, images and poems flooded phones and social media feeds at about 5pm on Tuesday, when https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/26/iran-internet-blackout">still-limited connectivity flickered back to life.

The first reactions, however, were not celebratory.

Many new posts were threaded with scepticism, anxiety and anger.