Twitter Blocked in Iran for National Security Concerns: Minister

Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology says Twitter is blocked in the Islamic Republic for certain national security concerns, not cultural or ethical issues. However, he believes, filtering is not a good strategy.

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, the new Iranian ICT minister, has voiced his opposition to the filtering of Twitter in Iran, but at the same time noted that the service is blocked for certain security reasons.

Speaking in a Farsi interview with ILNA, Jahromi said Twitter was not filtered by the ICT Ministry, so it is not the one that can decide about its unblock.

“It is not right to say we can end the filtering of Twitter. The body that has decided to block this social medium has made the decision for certain considerations,” he noted.

“I myself use Twitter. It is a good instrument for public diplomacy, establishing relation with people around the world, and expressing comments about different issues,” the 36-year-old minister added.

“To be honest, Twitter was blocked for national security reasons, not for ethical and cultural issues,” he added.

“We should hold talks [with relevant Judiciary authorities] on the issue [unblocking Twitter]. We will try to achieve good results in this regard,” Jahromi vowed.

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