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 amid mounting anti-regime protests, Iran’s Fars news agency reports.
Iran cut off all communications on January 8 without warning, as calls intensified for the anti-government protests, which were initially sparked by an economic crisis.
Access to the internet has been virtually impossible in Iran since then, although restrictions began to ease today 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 reports. “Irancell disobeyed the orders of the decision-making institutions in implementing the announced policies regarding the restriction of internet access in crisis situations.”
“The relevant institutions decided to dismiss the CEO of Irancell, citing ‘failure to comply with the announced rules in crisis situations,'” Fars adds.
Iranian authorities have announced they are planning to restore internet access “gradually.”
Irancell was founded in 2005 and claims 70 million subscribers.
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