Iran restores SMS services after deadly internet blackout, state media reports

Iranian state media have announced that SMS sending and receiving services have been restored across all mobile phone operators in the country.

The development comes after a widespread internet shutdown that began on January 8, during which the Islamic Republic conducted what has been described as its deadliest crackdown in recent history, Iran International reports.

According to senior government and security sources, the operations resulted in the deaths of at least 12,000 people, with the majority of casualties occurring on January 8 and 9.

Earlier, media reports stated that Iran planned to maintain its nationwide internet blackout until at least the Iranian New Year in late March.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told media activists that access to international online services would not be restored before Novruz, which falls around March 20.

“The shutdown, now in its second week, is also expected to remain in place until after the end of the 40-day mourning period for those killed in recent nationwide protests.”

Internet monitoring group NetBlocks said Iran’s current blackout had passed 180 hours, exceeding the core length of the 2019 shutdown, with no partial or regional restoration so far.

“In 2019, it was only after connectivity was restored that the scale of the brutal crackdown became known,” the group said in a post on social media.

Iran International reported earlier this week that Iranian authorities were in the final stages of rolling out what sources described as an “internet kill switch” project, designed to enable prolonged nationwide shutdowns.

By Vafa Guliyeva