Iran has no plans to restore general public access to the international internet, with restrictions continuing on security grounds, Iranian newspaper Taadol reported on May 21.

A senior member of parliament's cultural commission, Ali Yazdikhoah, said the internet shutdown had been ordered by the unelected Supreme "Council of Cyberspace" on security grounds during the war and that current decisions by senior bodies indicated no need to reopen access at this stage.

Iran imposed a near-total shutdown of international internet access at the start of the conflict with the United States and Israel in late February, in what authorities described as a security measure. Iran's digital economy has already suffered losses of more than IRR7 quadrillion ($3.88bn) over roughly 80 days of internet disruption, data from the Iran Blockchain Association in mid-May, seen by IntelliNews.

"Although we are in a state of neither war nor peace, security threats continue to threaten individuals and the country, and for these reasons the decision has been made not to grant general access," Yazdikhoah said.

The MP said groups with specialist needs, including export and import companies, scientific and research institutions, universities and certain professional bodies, had been granted access to the international internet through a defined mechanism.

He said more than one million people had been given access under a programme called "Internet Pro" which has been heavily criticised by many in the country, describing it as a "digital apartheid" between those with connections to the money and power being allowed online. 

Yazdikhoah insisted that around 90% of people's needs were being met under current conditions and that businesses sensitive to international communications could obtain access.

He said many businesses had migrated to domestic platforms, including Bale (a local version of WhatsApp), Rubika, and Soroush among other websites. 

Iranian "intranet" sites which are on local servers have remained online inside the country but are not accessible from abroad. Websites and services such as Gmail, Google, and Google Play are also disconnected. 

Iran's Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Zahra Behrouz-Azar criticised the government's continued restrictions on international internet access, arguing that a digital economy cannot operate while access to the global web remains limited on May 12

"It is not possible to talk about a digital economy while access to the international internet is limited," Behrouz-Azar said at a ceremony marking National Home-Based Businesses Day, the 50th meeting of the National Headquarters for Organising and Supporting Home-Based Businesses and the launch of the "1,000 Squares, 1,000 Markets" plan and a new home-based businesses platform, the paper wrote. 

Iran's digital economy has emerged in recent years as one of the most productive segments of the national economy, supporting the livelihoods of several million workers across e-commerce, fintech, content production and freelance services.