Lifting internet restrictions reveals Iranians' discontent over food inflation

2026-05-27 21:09:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Lifting internet restrictions reveals Iranians' discontent over food

The partial lifting of internet restrictions in Iran has revealed a growing wave of anger over food price inflation, with ordinary Iranians criticizing annual price increases of 308% for vegetable oil, 190% for chicken and 170% for rice.

Iranian authorities on Tuesday began restoring the connection to the global internet that was cut off on the first day of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic on February 28, as had happened during mass protests in January.

Connectivity remained weak on Wednesday, with mobile internet largely down and many websites restricted. But even the partial restoration was enough to spark an outburst of anger over price inflation and food shortages.

"Everything is so expensive. It's become a disaster," one user wrote on social media. "Leaving the market heartbroken after spending all your savings. It's unbearable. We don't have the patience left to live a normal life."

President Masoud Pezeshkian, who has been given some credit for lifting internet restrictions, blamed the US for Iran's economic problems, saying Washington had "committed to economic warfare after failing to overthrow the government".

In a lengthy statement, the intelligence ministry revealed its concerns that internet freedom could be used for “information warfare,” warning that Iran’s opponents aimed to “incite protesters and draw them into the streets.”

It said: “The enemy, defeated on the military front, now focuses its efforts on soft war, cognitive war, and social provocations.”

The government announced the creation of a "resistance economy committee" to crack down on price increases and address growing shortages, but hyperinflation is now endemic in Iran due to trade sanctions, exchange rate pressure and measures taken to cut subsidies given to traders in January.

Data from the International Monetary Fund showed that food inflation had risen between 140% and 200%, bringing overall inflation to 70%.

Support for continued internet restrictions was estimated at just 9% in a poll published on Wednesday.

In an attempt to thwart support for Reza Pahlavi, the late shah's son, government supporters attempted to flood the internet with claims aimed at "young people returning to the internet" that Pahlavi had openly applauded the attacks carried out by Israel and the US.

Others expressed a simple relief that they could now speak to the wider world.

Human rights activist Emadeddin Baghi wrote: “Three bloody months have passed, but not for those who lost a loved one or had their homes destroyed. During this period, our voices found no echo except on a few internal platforms, and, as best we could, we spoke and wrote in defense of the rights of those who had no voice.”

Prominent rapper Toomaj Salehi, who was sentenced to death in 2024 for supporting the 2022 protests but was later released, said that being connected to the internet “wasn’t a favor for us – it’s our right. And without filters, too.”

"Like free elections, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of parties and many other freedoms, these are our rights and not favors," he wrote in X.