CEO of Iranian telecom operator fired for failing to block internet

In this Thursday, July 25, 2019 photo, a man works on his cell phone at an internet cafe in Tehran, Iran.

The chief executive of Irancell, Iran’s second-largest mobile phone operator, was dismissed for failing to comply with the government’s decision to shut down the internet, the Fars news agency reported Sunday.

In an unprecedented move, Iran cut off all communications on January 8 without warning, as calls intensified for anti-government protests, initially sparked by the economic crisis.

Access to the internet has been virtually impossible in Iran since then, although restrictions began to ease Sunday for some foreign websites, such as Google.

“Alireza Rafiei was removed from the position of CEO of the company after about a year of activity,” Fars reported.

“Irancell disobeyed the orders of the decision-making institutions in implementing the announced policies regarding the restriction of internet access in crisis situations,” the agency said.

“The relevant institutions decided to dismiss the CEO of Irancell, citing ‘failure to comply with the announced rules in crisis situations’,” Fars added.

Iranian authorities have announced they are planning to restore internet access “gradually”.

On Sunday morning in Tehran, AFP journalists were able to access the global internet, although most internet service providers remained blocked.

The reasons for the limited connectivity were not immediately clear.

Access to Google was restored on Sunday “via all mobile phone lines and internet service providers”, according to state television.

Irancell was founded in 2005 and claims 70 million subscribers.