Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Ali Bahadori Jahromi, the administration’s spokesman, defended a decision by authorities to ban Instagram amid a wave of riots and unrest gripping the country, which officials say are being directed and fueled by foreign parties.
He criticized Instagram for applying a dual-standard policy to the notion of “violence” in posts related to Iran.
As a case in point, he said, the social networking services moves to delete posts or shut down pages containing photos of Iran’s top anti-terror commander Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani under the pretext that the posts “encourage violence,” while the commander is widely regarded as a “symbol of fighting violence.”
On the contrary, he said, Instagram takes no action against posts with footage that “trains for violence and terror” in violation of its own declared terms of use.
As another case in point, the official added, Instagram chose not to remove posts showing thugs cutting the throat of a member of Iranian security personnel during the deadly riots in Iran.
“It is certain that the administration supports any [foreign-based] platform that respects international rules, its own rules, and those of the country,” but Instagram does not do so, he said.
