Alamolhoda: Don't Blame the Leader for Filtering Telegram

Ahmad Alamolhoda, the representative of the Supreme Leader in Khorasan Razavi, accused Hassan Rouhani's government on Friday, April 6, of attempting to blame the filtering of Telegram on the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. According to Khabar Online, Alamolhoda stated during Friday prayers in Mashhad: "It has become customary not to listen to the Leader's words, and then they fail and blame the Leader for the problems." The representative of the Supreme Leader in Khorasan Razavi added: "Four years ago, I raised the issue of filtering foreign networks from this sacred place and from this podium, but you insulted and caused a commotion, and now you have come to the conclusion that all the country's problems and moral corruption stem from this." Alamolhoda emphasized: "Now you want to filter, and you want to blame the Leader. You said our hand would not go on the filter button; now you want to filter, don't blame the Leader." In recent weeks, reports have emerged regarding the Supreme Leader's dissatisfaction with the lifting of the filter on the 'Telegram' network. Following widespread protests in various cities in Iran last December, social networks like Telegram and Instagram were blocked, and several social media activists were arrested by security forces. However, after the unrest ended, these two networks were unblocked. Nevertheless, a few weeks ago, some Telegram channels reported that the Supreme Leader criticized the lifting of the filter on Telegram in a meeting with members of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace and called for the network to be blocked again. In this context, Aladdin Boroujerdi, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated on April 11 that at the "highest level" of the government and "considering the destructive role of Telegram," it has been decided that Telegram should be replaced by "a national system." Meanwhile, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, in response to reports about the potential filtering of Telegram, stated that the "system's foundation" is not to close the virtual space but to "remove the monopoly" from messaging spaces. On Tuesday, April 14, Rouhani, during a meeting with senior officials of the Islamic Republic, remarked about the reports regarding the potential blocking of the popular Telegram messaging app in Iran, saying, "Do not sour the people's mood with such statements; do not undermine employment in a crisis of unemployment." Telegram is one of the most popular social networks in Iran, with over 40 million Iranian users.