Iran Telecoms Minister Hints at Twitter Unblocking

EghtesadOnline: The new minister of Communications and Information Technology has said that Twitter’s blocking is not linked to moral and cultural factors, but to security issues and could be unblocked.

News ID: ۷۴۳۴۶۴

23 August 2017

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, who was confirmed by parliament last week, says “Twitter could be unblocked after negotiations with the authorities about the social messaging platform,” ILNA reported.

“We we cannot disregard such a broad-based social network.”

The minister also said that the Telecoms Ministry is not responsible for blocking the website, but will negotiate with the relevant authorities (the judiciary) on the matter, Financial Tribune reported.

“I have a Twitter account and I think it is a suitable tool for public diplomacy, connecting to people around the globe and voicing our ideas.”

His predecessor, Mahmoud Vaezi, had also called for unblocking people’s access to Twitter.

“Since several Iranian officials actively use Twitter, the authorities should reconsider blocking the service,” Vaezi said last month.

Blocked in Iran since 2009, Twitter is an online news and social networking service where users post and interact with ‘tweets’, restricted to 140 characters.

Twitter is very popular with celebrities and politicians around the world, with President Hassan Rouhani, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif actively using the service.