Acknowledgment by IRGC Official of Inability to 'Control' the Country Despite 'Telegram Voice'

The deputy head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence organization on Thursday criticized Hassan Rouhani, admitting that the Telegram voice feature was blocked because otherwise 'we would not be able to control any situation.' Hossein Nejat, a senior IRGC official, also stated that governments in Iran are seeking to 'modernize' the country, and Hassan Rouhani considers 'Telegram' a symbol of 'civilization' and 'modernism.' He identified the current system's problem as the 'danger of continued Westernization.' According to local websites 'Sobhe Tose' and 'Mashhad Payam,' on Thursday, Farvardin 31, Nejat spoke at a national conference of the 'Islamic Warriors' in Mashhad, which was held ahead of the twelfth presidential elections in Iran, emphasizing the necessity of 'the rise of a revolutionary government.' He referred to Rouhani's government as one that seeks to 'modernize' Iran, with Rouhani himself viewing the mobile social network 'Telegram' as a symbol of 'civilization' and 'modernism.' This IRGC commander added: 'Western civilization has ideas, ideologies, and practical programs; modernity is the result of Western ideas, and issues like democracy and same-sex marriage are part of its operational agenda.' Nejat explicitly stated that during a meeting with Rouhani, he expressed concern over the continuation of Telegram's voice feature in Iran, to which Rouhani responded: 'Why do you oppose every technology that comes from the West?' Nejat clearly stated that he told the Iranian president that 'the activation of Telegram voice would mean we cannot control any situation.' The IRGC and the judiciary are identified as two entities advocating for the restriction of social networks, particularly 'Telegram,' in Iran. The remarks by the deputy head of the IRGC intelligence organization defending the blocking of the Telegram voice feature were made just days after this feature was disabled in Iran. Two days after the activation of the voice feature by the popular Telegram app in Iran, this capability was blocked on Friday, Farvardin 25, by a judicial order. The blocking of this Telegram feature faced protests from Ali Motahari and Masoud Pezeshkian, two members of the Iranian parliament. Mahmoud Vaezi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, also identified the judiciary as responsible for blocking the Telegram voice service in Iran on Tuesday. Earlier, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, had only absolved Rouhani's government, stating that the blocking of Telegram voice was 'done outside the government.' Nobakht further ambiguously stated, without naming a specific entity or official, that the responsibility for this issue 'lies with those friends who decided to carry it out.' Currently, Telegram is more popular among Iranians than any other network. In Azar 1395, Abolhasan Firouzabadi, the secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, announced that Telegram has 40 million users in Iran. Although the accuracy of this official's statement cannot be fully verified, this number is likely increasing due to the rise in smartphone purchases in Iran.