Passersby stroll along a street in Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 4, 2023, some checking their phones. (Credit: Atta Kenare/AFP)
Alireza Rafiei, CEO of Iran Cell, was dismissed from his position after a year at the helm of Iran’s main telephone operator.On Jan. 8, after several days of nationwide anti-regime protests, authorities ordered Rafiei to cut internet services, which he delayed. The hesitation lasted "probably an hour or an hour and a half," according to Amir Rashidi, a cybersecurity expert and member of the Miaan Group.Filter Watch, part of the group's projects, revealed the information, which nearly went unnoticed due to the information black hole that Iran has been plunged into. In numbers In infographics: Documented protests in Iran drop from over 100 to zero That day, Tehran sought to put the country and its 90 million inhabitants under a telecommunications lockdown.Despite some partial restorations of connectivity, the near-total...
Alireza Rafiei, CEO of Iran Cell, was dismissed from his position after a year at the helm of Iran’s main telephone operator.On Jan. 8, after several days of nationwide anti-regime protests, authorities ordered Rafiei to cut internet services, which he delayed. The hesitation lasted "probably an hour or an hour and a half," according to Amir Rashidi, a cybersecurity expert and member of the Miaan Group.Filter Watch, part of the group's projects, revealed the information, which nearly went unnoticed due to the information black hole that Iran has been plunged into. In numbers In infographics: Documented protests in Iran drop from over 100 to zero That day, Tehran sought to put the country and its 90 million inhabitants under a telecommunications lockdown.Despite some partial restorations of connectivity, the...
