Twitter and Facebook Blocked Again In Iran - After One-Day Respite

Iran blocked access to Facebook and Twitter on Tuesday, a day after it unblocked the sites. Thousands of Iranians on Monday got on the sites directly without having to evade a government’s firewall.

Thomas Erdbrink, the New York Times correspondent in Tehran, tweeted yesterday with updates on the sites being unblocked, and today on them being blocking again: (@ThomasErdbrink)

“Okay people the rumors are true, this is my first tweet ever using Iran's state cell phone internet service without VPN!!!” (3pm EST, Monday)

“Hello world, we are tweeting without restrictions from Iran.” (Monday)

“Is Iran's Berlin Wall of internet censorship crumbling down? I am tweeting from Tehran from my cell without restrictions.” (Monday)

“Both twitter and FB have been filtered since 2009 protests. For years Iranians had to use special software for access.” (Monday)

“That feeling when the Iranian authorities finally decide you are wise enough to use Twitter and FB...” (Monday)

“Twitter and Facebook are once again blocked in Iran, with one (hardline) official saying yesterday's unexpected openness was a ‘glitch.’” (Tuesday, 5:58am)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif all maintain very active Twitter and Facebook accounts to connect to the world. But the citizens are prohibited to tweet or access FB.

To reach the sites, Iranians began using virtual private network, or VPN, software to connect through computers located outside the country, though the telecommunications ministry eventually deployed technology to block much of that kind of traffic as well.

Several hardline politicians have made public comments in recent days calling Facebook “a Zionist tool.”