Mobile phones, Facebook, YouTube cut in Iran

June 14, 2009
A supporter of Mir Hossein Mousavi stands in front of a burning bus during riots in Tehran

A supporter of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi stands in front of a burning bus during riots in Tehran. The main mobile telephone network in Iran was cut in the capital Tehran Saturday evening while popular Internet websites Facebook and YouTube also appeared to be blocked, correspondents said.

The main mobile telephone network in Iran was cut in the capital Tehran Saturday evening while popular Internet websites Facebook and YouTube also appeared to be blocked, correspondents said.

The communication cuts came after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a landslide re-election victory, sparking rioting in the streets by opposition supporters who claimed the result had been rigged.

The stopped working at 10:00 pm (1730 GMT), just before Ahmadinejad went on television to declare the election a "great victory" and even as baton-wielding police were clashing with protestors in the streets of Tehran, according to witnesses.

Iran has two national networks run by state-owned MCI (Telecommunication Company of Iran) and the private firm Irancell.

Several Iran-based users logging on via different Internet service providers, meanwhile, said they could reach neither nor -- the two websites used effectively by young supporters of Ahmadinejad's moderate rival Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Mousavi complained bitterly on Saturday against "vote rigging" in the election, unleashing violent clashes between his supporters and anti-riot police.

Scores of users started posting pictures and videos of the protests on both sites shortly after they broke out in Tehran's streets.

Iranian authorities banned the popular social networking website Facebook on May 23 reportedly to prevent Mousavi supporters from using it for his presidential campaign prior to Friday's poll.

Access was restored after a few days.

About 60 percent of Iran's 70-million population is under 30 years old and the country, which applies strict monitoring of cyber material, has some 20 million web users.

Several pro-Mousavi news websites have also been blocked in the past two days including two popular ones, Aftab News and Shahab News, which are regarded as close to Iran's top arbitration body, the Expediency Council.

The Council is headed by influential former president and Mousavi-backer, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was the subject of mudslinging in the presidential campaign after Ahmadinejad accused his sons of receiving financial privileges in the past.

(c) 2009 AFP

2.5 /5 (4 votes)  

Filter


Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

LuckyBrandon
Jun 14, 2009

Rank: 2 / 5 (2)
oh well, im sure they are one of our next 2 targets anyway...so let em do what they want while their government still exists. It will be short lived anyways...
timefighter
Jun 15, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
I don't know if that's really fair for users, I mean, who can live without communication supplies in this modern world. I just hope the government will over run these very strict decisions, and live war-free for a few years.
timefighter
Jun 15, 2009

Rank: not rated yet
I don't think it's fair for users, I mean who can live without communication supplies in this so-called modern world. I just hope the government will out run these strict decisions, and live war-free for the next few years.
Rank 2.5 /5 (4 votes)
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • How to tilt a object
    created1 hour ago
  • How to calculate total compressibility in liquid porous solid system
    created7 hours ago
  • Need help reading 3-D
    createdFeb 11, 2012
  • A way to send and receive wireless data
    createdFeb 11, 2012
  • Calling function with no input argument
    createdFeb 10, 2012
  • Force free body diagram problem on gym equipment
    createdFeb 10, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - General Engineering

More news stories

Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon

(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...

Technology / Internet

created 15 hours ago | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 5 | with audio podcast report

Iran blocks email, restricts net access: reports

Iran has further restricted access to the Internet and blocked popular email services for the past few days, in a move a top lawmaker said could "cost the regime dearly," media reports said on Sunday.

Technology / Internet

created 8 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 5

Love a click away in Indonesia's Twitter Republic

He was a geeky kid from Yogyakarta, she a glamorous city girl in Jakarta. In a country with one of the world's most vibrant social networking scenes they fell in love on Twitter.

Technology / Internet

created 16 hours ago | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Walney offshore wind farm is world's biggest (for now)

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Walney wind farm on the Irish Sea--characterized by high tides, waves and windy weather--officially opened this week. The farm is treated in the press as a very big deal as the Walney ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Feb 11, 2012 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (14) | comments 52 | with audio podcast weblog

Navy to begin tests on electromagnetic railgun prototype launcher

The Office of Naval Research (ONR)'s Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun program will take an important step forward in the coming weeks when the first industry railgun prototype launcher is tested at a facility ...

Technology / Engineering

created Feb 06, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (19) | comments 95 | with audio podcast


Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy

For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...

New method to examine batteries -- MRI from the inside

There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived ...

A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell

Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric ...

Lab study raises questions over nano-particle impact

Tests involving chickens have raised questions about the impact on health from engineered nano-particles, the ultra-fine grains commonly used in drugs and processed foods, scientists said on Sunday.

Starve a virus, feed a cure? Findings show how some cells protect themselves against HIV

A protein that protects some of our immune cells from the most common and virulent form of HIV works by starving the virus of the molecular building blocks that it needs to replicate, according to research published online ...

Overeating may double risk of memory loss

New research suggests that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older. The study was released today and will be ...