Internet Services Disrupted In Iran's Capital For Unknown Reason
Internet services on mobile phones and landlines were disrupted Friday morning in the Iranian capital Tehran and the nearby city of Karaj.
Internet services on mobile phones and landlines were disrupted Friday morning in the Iranian capital Tehran and the nearby city of Karaj.
According to reports on social meida, many websites are not available via all internet service providers (ISPs) of the country. Most news websites are not even available from abroad.
Unconfirmed reports in social media say the reason is a fire at the Telecommunication Infrastructure Company.
Some social media users who are not living in Tehran or Karaj also say their internet is down.
The public relations manager of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Mehdi Salem, told IRNA that the disruption was caused by a problem in one of the data centers (LCT) in Tehran. He did not say what the nature of the problem was.
He added the problem was resolved after about an hour, but despite this statement service remained largely unavailable.
On Thursday, a report by the Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA said the internet penetration rate has surpassed 122 percent in the country.
The government blocks thousands of websites and top social media apps in abid to control the flow of information.
Iranians were outraged last week when a group of 18 hardliners in a parliament committee claimed that they had ratified a bill to further restrict internet and social media access.
Some people reacted to the disruption by blaming the authorities, saying the outage was a trial run for the plan to restrict internet and social media, which hardliners are pushing for.
An ultraconservative lawmaker even insisted on Thursday that Iranian negotiators should leave Vienna at once as he believes there is nothing to be gained in the talks.
International relations expert Ali Bigdeli told Didban Iran website in Tehran that if there is no agreement between Iran and world powers, the rate of exchange for the US dollar will rise to 400,000 rials as opposed to the current rate of around 260,000 rials in less than a week.
The analyst added that if negotiators fail to reach an agreement, Iran's case might be sent to the UN Security council, where more sanctions are likely to be imposed on Tehran even if Russia and China back the Islamic Republic.
Bigdeli said that concern over the implications of not reaching an agreement on Iran's already ailing economy could lead to growing concerns about the eruption of riots in Iran.
He sounded almost certain that the negotiations in Vienna are doomed to fail. He said Iran's support of Russia has affected the fate of the nuclear talks and it looks like the talks are ending in a deadlock as Iran's demands from the West are not rooted in reality.
Bigdeli went on to say that in the new Iranian year which starts in late March, prices will rise even further, and without an agreement, Iran's international isolation as a result of its support for Russia will lead to an unprecedented level of public dissatisfaction which will end in major riots.
Meanwhile, former lawmaker Mansour Haghighatpour told reporters in Tehran that those who are against a nuclear deal with the United States are no more than 20 lawmakers in the Iranian parliament and they cannot decide for the entire nation and impose their hardliner views.
He criticized hardliner lawmakers who say Iran should not make an agreement with the United States, adding that it is Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who makes the final decision about steering the negotiations.
In another development, firebrand member of parliament Mahmoud Nabavian, a staunch opponent of any deal with the West, particularly with the United States, told reporters in Tehran that Iran's problems have nothing to do with the sanctions and insisted that Iranian negotiators should leave Vienna at once.
Nabavian, a member of the ultraconservative Paydari Party, boasted that in spite of sanctions Iran has had a lot of progress particularly in the area of developing military hardware. He added that creating relative welfare for the nation is feasible regardless of the economic pressures, only if the government has the right roadmap.
This has been a constant argument of hardliners, while many former officials and economists keep saying that the country would be doomed if sanctions continue.
He said the conditions set for Iran by the other side is unfair and will cause losses for Tehran. He said while 980 Iranians are sanctioned by the United States, Washington is prepared to lift the sanction on only 20 individuals.
Nonetheless, he claimed that sanctions affect only 20 percent of Iran's economy, and the other 80 percent should be attributed to poor management.
Mehrdad Veis Karami, one of the 18 members of the Iranian parliament (Majles) who support a highly controversial bill to restrict social media access, called opponents "dogs on long leashes." The group of 18 hardliners last week claimed that they had ratified the bill in a committee and that there was no need to put the bill to vote by all the 290 lawmakers.
Later 167 Iranian members of parliament objected to the unlawful act and subsequently the parliament officially annulled the result of the voting. The bill is to be put to vote at the Majles later.
In the meantime, Karami started a campaign on social media against the opponents of the restrictive bill who in fact supported freedom of expression on social media. When critics lashed out at him, he said the "long leash" comment was a quote from a statement made by a former CIA chief. Iranian social media users quickly responded to remind him that no former or current CIA chief had made any such comment and suggested that the hardliner lawmaker do a google search before attributing fake statements to anyone.
In a telephone conversation with Karami on live TV, Ms. Elmira Sharifi questioned Karami's presence on Twitter, which is officially banned in Iran, leaving the hardliner speechless. She further told him that he has insulted millions of opponents of the restrictive bill. The lawmaker slightly changed his complacent tone and said that he was not talking about the nation and that he was criticizing the opponents of the bill at the Majles. But the news anchor did not take that either and accused Karami of insulting nearly 200 of his colleagues at the Majles.
Although Iran's state TV is strictly controlled by the government, still anchors at times criticize some parliament bills before they are approved and become laws. Nonetheless, not every news anchor is brave enough to challenge even low-key politicians such as most members of parliament.
On the other hand, grilling Karami appeared absolutely legitimate, considering that even some clerics had lashed out at him for the controversial comment and his support for a legislation that would restrict people's freedoms and hurt millions who use Western apps, such as Instagram for commerce. In a video posted on Twitter, Iranian cleric Vahid Heroabadi returned the insult to Karami.
Numerous Iranians on social media lashed out at Karami and he had to take back his comment in a series of tweets. Some of the comments about Karami's insulting tweets were made by hardliner users and supporters of the government. As an example, Farid Modarresi said Karami was a mad dog who attacked the people and accused him of making the people angry by spreading irrational statement.
Nonetheless, most of Karami's critics called on him to leave social media platforms that are officially banned in Iran because of restrictions he and his likeminded colleagues have imposed.Thousands of small businesses operate from social media platforms and many Iranians, including the children use social media to voice their ideas or to vent their frustration
Over 220 of Iran's 290 predominantly hardliner lawmakers have their own Twitter accounts and use them for messaging as they are not important enough to be quoted on traditional media outlets.
