Several reports indicate that telecoms providers in Iran have begun blocking internet access across several cities in the country as mass protests erupted for the third day in a row.
Among the telecoms company was Hamrahe Aval, the primary Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran (MTCI or MCI) as social media continues to play a pivotal role in documenting mass protests and subsequent brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in the country.
READ MORE: Three killed in shooting by Revolutionary Guards during protests in central Iran
The MTCI is considered a firm jointly held by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other firms controlled by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s two main internet and communications service providers are the Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) and Irancell. TCI and its subsidiaries, including MCI, are owned by Tosee Etemad Mobin Company which has close links to Iran’s IRGC.
RELATED: Al Arabiya English’s ongoing coverage of Iran Protests
Iran had previously cut off internet access across several cities when the popular Green Movement protests took place against what many considered unfair elections in 2009 when hardliner incumbent president at the time, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, won relection.
Last Update: Sunday, 31 December 2017 KSA 23:49 - GMT 20:49
Yeamf93 on December 31st, 2017 at 09:53 UTC »
Internet's back on - only Mobile carriers cut their services off, I think it was to get people to go home last night. (It's now 1:30 PM here)
WiFi was connected, but yeah people didn't have access to post stuff via mobile data when on the streets.
Today everything is a lot more quieter... Apparently, the president (Rouhani) is going to hold a conference and address these protests. (EDIT: There's debate about this though. EDIT AGAIN : He is for sure set to speak tonight) I really do hope he doesn't call people who just want their voices heard a bunch of low lives. The protests were mostly peaceful, up until last night when the police/ army started hurting people and people started to burn down stations, cars, trash cans...
EDIT - UPDATE : It's 6 PM here. They just blocked a couple of social media apps like Telegram and Instagram. Telegram was a huge app people used to spread news around. :( We can only use VPN to access these apps now. Ugh! I don't know why they are doing this, this will only make people angrier. Waiting to hear about the president's appearance on TV... People are still in the streets, mostly university students.
smashew on December 31st, 2017 at 04:36 UTC »
If you are the kind of country where people are going to turn off the Internet, you are the kind of country that is going to have its media stations stormed by angry citizens.
TheMightyCE on December 31st, 2017 at 03:32 UTC »
There were mass protests in 2009 and again now. These ones are due to life not getting better after sanctions were lifted, but adding to that is a general air of discontent in regards to the government in general. In many ways that sounds good, but I suspect the protests are far too general in nature to generate any real change at this stage. There's no single demand, instead it's a mess of things.
It's hard to achieve anything without a central message and/or demand.