The Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday stressed the need to lift the restrictions imposed on the Internet in the country as soon as possible, emphasizing the importance of facilitating online business and reducing restrictions on communications.
During a meeting of the Iranian cabinet, Pezeshkian stated: “Given the importance of facilitating online business affairs and reducing restrictions on communications, I recommended Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, to lift Internet restrictions as soon as possible.”
The Iranian President stressed that giving the utmost accuracy and fairness in dealing with the cases of detainees on the background of recent events is a top priority for the government. He explained that those who did not participate significantly in the events will be treated with tolerance, while the files of the killers and leaders of what he described as “terrorist incidents” are subject to specific judicial and security procedures and cannot be tolerated.
Change in the management of “Irancell”
In a separate context, the change of the General Manager of Irancell, one of the largest telecommunications companies in Iran, was announced on Sunday evening.
Fars News Agency reported that Ali Reza Rafiei had been dismissed from his position after about a year of his appointment, against the background of the company’s performance during the crisis and unrest witnessed by the country at dawn on January 10.
Official sources stated that “Irancell” had refused to comply with the policies issued regarding restricting access to the Internet in emergency situations, which was considered a violation of the orders issued by the concerned authorities.
The sources pointed out that the days of January 8 and 9 witnessed organized attacks targeting security centers, Basij headquarters, and government buildings, resulting, according to the official narrative, in the killing of a number of citizens and security forces.
Eight days after these events, the competent authorities took a decision to dismiss the General Manager of “Irancell”, due to non-compliance with the laws and guidelines in force in crisis conditions, with emphasis on the fact that security measures will include any future changes related to the former Director.
