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Iran has begun restoring its citizens’ access to the internet after an 88-day blackout that monitors say was the longest nationwide shutdown ever recorded.

Getting into it: The partial restoration began Tuesday afternoon local time, after President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a Monday decree ordering the Ministry of Communications to restore international access to its pre-January state. First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref announced the move on X, calling it “the first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace,” though the rollout has so far been uneven. Monitoring group NetBlocks said connectivity initially climbed to more than a third of pre-shutdown levels, while US-based network monitoring firm Kentik reported access remained below 10 percent, with restoration appearing “selective.”

The total blackout was imposed in late February after the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran on the 28th, with Iranian officials pointing to worries about spying, foreign hacking, and outside monitoring (though it built on earlier restrictions dating back to a January crackdown on anti-government protests fueled by the country’s worsening economy). Many believe the real motive was concealment, as the government used the war as cover to expand a sweeping internal crackdown.

The economic damage ultimately drove the reversal. One estimate puts the number of Iranian jobs tied to the internet at roughly 5 million, and the shutdown was costing the economy over $6 million a day at a time when inflation was already crushing households (basic groceries like chicken have gotten too expensive for many families). Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi acknowledged the toll, warning the restrictions had caused “significant damage to the digital economy” and risked driving away investment and talent. Pezeshkian, who ran on a free-internet pledge, reportedly spent months quietly pressuring security officials to lift the blackout.

This all comes as the fragile US-Iran ceasefire continues to wobble, with connections returning just hours after Tehran accused Washington of a “gross violation” of the truce over US strikes on Iranian missile launch positions and boats off the country’s southern coast Monday, which the US described as “defensive.” Iran has vowed to “respond” to the strikes.