Internet traffic in Iran has begun recovering towards pre-shutdown levels 18 days after the country went offline, with mobile operators driving the growth whilst domain allowlisting remains in place, Cloudflare Radar reported on January 26.

Traffic data shows a sharp decline to near-zero levels beginning around January 11, followed by a prolonged period of minimal connectivity through mid-January. Traffic surged dramatically starting January 23, with HTTP requests reaching their highest levels since late December.

The recovery shows desktop traffic at 53.9% and human traffic at 10.4%, whilst mobile traffic accounts for 46% and bot traffic 89.6%. Mobile operators Mobile Communication Company of Iran and MTN-Irancell are leading the restoration of connectivity.

Traffic volume data reveals HTTP requests increased by approximately 245% during the recovery period compared to the shutdown phase, though the restoration remains incomplete. The pattern indicates graduated restoration rather than full network recovery.

The shutdown followed widespread protests across Iran that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed resulted in more than 3,117 deaths, though these figures remain unverified by independent sources.

$34mn in losses for local business

The internet shutdown has inflicted daily losses of approximately IRR50trn ($34.5mn free market exchange) on the national economy and IRR5tn ($3mn) on the digital economy sector, directly and indirectly affecting millions of livelihoods, Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi said on January 26.

The extended internet blackout represents one of the longest national-scale shutdowns in recent years, severely disrupting communications, commerce and daily life across the country, forcing business groups to use shared computers in Chambers of Commerce across the country to access emails and orders from abroad.

Hashemi told a joint meeting with the Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy that the shutdown represents more than a technical disruption and could bring serious social and security consequences. The digital economy sector employs approximately 10mn people, he stated.

"The average resilience of internet-based companies and businesses is estimated at around 20 days, and the country is approaching this critical point," Hashemi warned, according to Zoomit.

The minister questioned whether recurring disruptions in e-government services stem from communications infrastructure problems or technical weaknesses and instability in government systems. 

International landline calls working

International calls to Iranian landlines have also been restored after approximately 20 days of disruption, with connectivity re-established within recent hours.

Since January 8, coinciding with Iran's international internet shutdown, international calling in both directions had been blocked. Outbound international calls from Iran were restored earlier, but inbound calls to the country remained impossible until the latest development.

Checks inside Iran have confirmed the restriction has now been lifted, and numbers outside Iran can again contact domestic landlines.

The latest shutdown coincides with heightened US-Iran tensions and significant American military deployments to the region.

Updated 16:26