Islamic Republic Decides to Block Telegram Messenger Network

The Islamic Republic of Iran has once again decided to block the Telegram messenger network.

Some officials of the Islamic Republic have cited national security issues as the reason for filtering Telegram in recent days.

Media outlets have reported statements by Alaoddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, who said this decision was made at the highest level and a domestic messenger will replace Telegram.

According to Mr. Boroujerdi, this decision was made in response to what he described as “Telegram’s destructive role in public protests.”

Telegram, with more than 40 million users in Iran, was filtered shortly after the December protests began last month, but approximately 10 percent of users were able to maintain their access to the messenger network through VPN and proxy services.

Concurrently with blocking Telegram during public protests, the Trump administration asked Tehran on December 12 to stop restricting Iranian citizens’ access to Instagram and other social networks.

The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State said that the United States is asking Iran to “open these sites” and added that Instagram, Telegram, and other applications are “legitimate channels for communication.”

Steve Goldstein added that the United States continues to communicate with Iranians in Persian through the U.S. State Department accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and other internet platforms.

Source: Voice of America