Twitter CEO Called Out Rouhani over Iran’s Twitter Ban

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo on Thursday tweeted at Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is in New York attending the UN General Assembly, with a Twitter burn for the ages. (Time, 26 September)

Access to Twitter and Facebook is officially banned in Iran, but the country’s officials, including Rouhani and Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader, regularly and actively post their views on Twitter and Facebook.

Iran Blocks Instagram

The Iranian Judiciary today ordered blocking of photo-sharing app Instagram, Mehr News Agency reported. Social websites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook have already been blocked by censors.

Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Khamenei and President Rouhani, however, keep very active Facebook and Twitter accounts and Rouhani also has an Instagram account. The restriction on social media apparently applies only to ordinary citizens of the country.

Officials at Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, could not be immediately reached for comment (AP, 23 May)

Is Rouhani's pilot an Instagramer?

Rouhani Conversation With Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey

President Rouhani fielded a question from Jack Dorsey, the founder and CEO of Twitter today.

@NegarMortazavi tweeted their exchange earlier today. 

Below is the actual twitter exchange between the two:

Rouhani Deletes Tweets Of Conversation With Obama

Old photo before Rouhani got more followers

By: Jabbar Fazeli. MD
Rounahi's first tweets about his phone conversation with Obama were in first person format and uncensored. 

Hours later the tweets were deleted and replaced with ones formatted in third person and missing the fuzziness of the first tweets.

Rouhani may want to do something different, but at the end of the day he too has minders, and they may not all be on his payroll.

Twitter and Facebook Blocked Again In Iran - After One-Day Respite

Iran blocked access to Facebook and Twitter on Tuesday, a day after it unblocked the sites. Thousands of Iranians on Monday got on the sites directly without having to evade a government’s firewall.

Thomas Erdbrink, the New York Times correspondent in Tehran, tweeted yesterday with updates on the sites being unblocked, and today on them being blocking again: (@ThomasErdbrink)

“Okay people the rumors are true, this is my first tweet ever using Iran's state cell phone internet service without VPN!!!” (3pm EST, Monday)

“Hello world, we are tweeting without restrictions from Iran.” (Monday)

“Is Iran's Berlin Wall of internet censorship crumbling down? I am tweeting from Tehran from my cell without restrictions.” (Monday)

“Both twitter and FB have been filtered since 2009 protests. For years Iranians had to use special software for access.” (Monday)

“That feeling when the Iranian authorities finally decide you are wise enough to use Twitter and FB...” (Monday)

“Twitter and Facebook are once again blocked in Iran, with one (hardline) official saying yesterday's unexpected openness was a ‘glitch.’” (Tuesday, 5:58am)

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif all maintain very active Twitter and Facebook accounts to connect to the world. But the citizens are prohibited to tweet or access FB.

To reach the sites, Iranians began using virtual private network, or VPN, software to connect through computers located outside the country, though the telecommunications ministry eventually deployed technology to block much of that kind of traffic as well.

Several hardline politicians have made public comments in recent days calling Facebook “a Zionist tool.”

Hezbollah criticizes CNN for firing senior editor

Hezbollah's spokesman Ibrahim Moussawi has criticized CNN for firing senior editor Octavia Nasr after she expressed remorse following the death of Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah in on her Twitter page where she stated:

"Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.. One of Hezbollah's giants I respect a lot..."

Moussawi stated:

"This measure reveals the double standard in the West regarding matters in the region and unmasks the United States, which pretends to protect freedom of speech."

After nearly two decades working for CNN she was fired under the pretext that her credibility had been lost.

A UK envoy has also angered Israel over stating that Fadlallah was a "decent" man and her "favorite politician".

An Israeli spokesmen has stated that Ayatollah Fadlallah was "unworthy of praise."

Fadlallah who was a strong supporter of the Islamic Revolution and also for the founding of Hezbollah in 1982 as a result of the Israeli invasion and occupation of the South of Lebanon, Hezbollah fought an 18 year war with Israel until a cease fire was reached in 2000 and then fought another short war in 2006 after an attack on Israeli soldiers in a Lebanese territory occupied by Israel called the Shebba Farms.

These two 'incidents' follow Helen Thomas' early retirement as a result of criticizing Israel's attack on an aid flotilla full of peace activists in which she stated in the heat of the moment that the Jews should get out of occupied Palestine.

Iran Election Tops Twitter Search for 2009

Twitter has announced its 2009 most popular topic: #iranelection. Other Iran-related topics were high on the most used keywords: Iran at 4th place and Tehran at 5th.