TEHRAN: Iran will begin restoring internet access this week following an 11-day nationwide shutdown imposed during deadly anti-government protests, a senior official announced on Monday, as the authorities faced fresh diplomatic and human rights pressure.
Read More: Iran considers ‘gradually’ restoring Internet – Daily Times
“The internet will gradually return to normal operations this week,” said Hossein Afshin, the vice president for science, technology and the knowledge economy, in remarks on state television. Limited service briefly returned on Sunday for select foreign websites, but attempts to open links remained blocked as of Monday.
The Iranian Foreign Minister will not be attending Davos.
Although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year. pic.twitter.com/NRjbqAoqe9— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 19, 2026
Iran imposed the blackout on Jan 8 during mass demonstrations fuelled by worsening economic hardship and soaring inflation. Norway-based Iran Human Rights said it had verified 3,428 protester deaths, though rights groups warn the true toll is likely far higher. The figure cannot be independently confirmed and Iranian officials have not disclosed casualty numbers.
International fallout intensified as organisers of the World Economic Forum in Davos said Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, would not attend this week’s summit. He had been scheduled to speak on Tuesday, but activists urged his removal amid what rights groups described as a “massacre” of civilians. “It is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year,” the forum said.
Separately, the United Nations condemned Iran’s accelerating use of capital punishment, accusing authorities of deploying executions “as a tool of state intimidation”. UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the Islamic Republic executed roughly 1,500 people in 2025, with disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities and migrants. He warned that Iran’s execution practices contributed to an alarming global spike in death sentences last year.
Read More: UN mission urges Iran end crackdown restore internet – Daily Times
While more countries move toward abolishing the death penalty, executions surged in Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States — often for offences that did not meet the international threshold of “most serious crimes”, the UN said.