Iran to block Telegram, nation’s social media app

TEHRAN, Iran — Telegram, the most popular social media app in Iran, will be blocked nationwide, state media reported Sunday.

The semi-official Fars news agency quoted Mohammad-javad Azari Jahromi, the telecommunications minister, as saying the app used by an estimated 40 million Iranians —— half the population —— would be blocked starting 10 a.m. Monday.

Fars carried the news on its Telegram channel, illustrating how the app is an almost inescapable part of daily life and used constantly by government officials, clerics, opposition activists, business owners and workaday Iranians.

The official reason for the ban was economic nationalism: Iranian officials say they want to promote homegrown apps that could break Telegram’s virtual monopoly on social media in a country where authorities tightly monitor internet use and many websites are inaccessible.

But critics suspect the real reason is to stifle dissent after protests that began last December and spread to scores of cities nationwide, the most significant social unrest in Iran in years.

Telegram, founded by Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov, is an instant messaging service that has about

200 million users worldwide, onetenth the number Facebook has. Its messages are said to be secure and less vulnerable to hackers. It offers instant messaging and channels through which users can broadcast messages, photos and videos to followers.

Iran has tried to control the app before. During the recent protests, Iran banned Telegram and Instagram for several days as it sought to keep the demonstrations from growing. Last year, Iranian security and intelligence agencies arrested some Telegram users, citing national security reasons.