L'Internet de l'Iran voit une augmentation de 15x du trafic au milieu d'une restauration partielle

Eighty-seven days after a sweeping nationwide shutdown began on February 28, Iran's internet connectivity is showing signs of a partial, albeit incomplete, restoration. Cloudflare Radar data captured a marked increase in both traffic and DNS queries starting around 11:00 UTC on May 26, signaling that users are once again attempting to reach websites and services.

Traffic surges 15x while remaining below baselines

Data for bytes transferred across Cloudflare's network reveals a steady climb starting at 12:00 UTC on May 26, representing a surge roughly 15x higher than the levels observed during the preceding week. While this spike is significant, it remains well below the country's normal operating capacity; at its peak on May 26, traffic had only returned to 40% of the maximum activity observed so far in 2026.

This recovery is heavily concentrated in the capital, with 91.6% of HTTP requests originating from Tehran. Major internet providers, including TCI, IranCell, RighTel, and MCCI, all showed measurable increases in traffic via their respective ASNs.

Technical indicators suggest application-layer filtering

A critical distinction in how these shutdowns are executed lies in the behavior of IP address space. Throughout both major 2026 disruptions, IPv4 address space announcements remained relatively consistent and stable in global routing tables. In contrast, the volume of announced IPv6 address space—and consequently IPv6 traffic—remains effectively zero, mirroring a near-complete loss seen during the January shutdown.

Because IPv4 addresses were not removed from global routing tables despite the total loss of traffic, the evidence suggests that Iran's shutdowns are achieved through technical means such as application filtering, whitelisting, or deep packet inspection rather than simple BGP route withdrawals.

Whether these increases represent a permanent return to connectivity or a temporary reprieve remains to be seen. As demonstrated during the brief restorations in January, periods of recovery can quickly reverse, making the coming days a critical test for Iran's digital infrastructure.

Source: Iran's Internet is partially restored, Cloudflare Radar data shows
Domain: blog.cloudflare.com