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09:44
The Internet In Iran Seems To Be Slowly Coming Back
Good morning from our teams in RFE/RL's Radio Farda and in the Central Newsroom. Starting the morning with the news that Iranians are slowly getting back online.
Internet monitoring data from NetBlocks shows that on the morning of January 17, after more than 200 hours of internet shutdown in Iran, the number of connected users has increased, albeit by a small amount.
According to NetBlocks, despite the slight uptick, nationwide internet connectivity in Iran remains at just 2 percent of normal levels, with no indication of a broad or sustained restoration.
Some experts say this limited improvement is due mainly to parts of government infrastructure and some specific networks getting back online -- with general access for ordinary users still incredibly limited.
Meanwhile, reports and user anecdotes indicate that some Iranian users are getting back on social networks but in a limited and scattered manner. A few unstable calls have been made through messenger apps, but widespread access is still not available to the public.
The internet shutdown in Iran, which began on the evening of January 8, is one of the longest nationwide internet shutdowns in the world, in terms of its duration and scale. It is thought that the only complete and nationwide internet shutdown in the world that lasted longer was related to the October 2021 coup in Sudan.
The Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, announced on January 14 that "it seems that the final decision on greater access to the internet will be made in the next week or two by the relevant institutions."
However, more pessimistic assessments suggest that the Iranian people may not have access to the global internet for months -- or even that the internet will be nationalized.
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23:47
16.1.2026
We are now closing the live blog for today. We'll be back again tomorrow morning to follow all the ongoing developments in Iran at 9:00 a.m. Central European time.
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22:28
16.1.2026
'Kidnapped From Hospitals': An Iranian Doctor Describes Brutal Crackdown
An Iranian ophthalmologist who spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Farda from Europe said hospitals are struggling to treat all the wounded as authorities try to crush anti-government protests.
Doctors have been overwhelmed by the number of eye injuries in particular, she said, adding that there have also been reports of security forces taking injured patients from hospitals and bodies from morgues.
