TEHRAN, Iran — The Iranian government says it will unblock the internet only when authorities are sure it will not be “abused” during violent demonstrations against a gasoline price hike.
The Islamic Republic has been largely offline since the internet restrictions were imposed the day after the nationwide demonstrations broke out on Friday.
“Many professions and banks… have faced problems, and we have been trying to solve this,” government spokesman Ali Rabiei says, quoted by semi-official news agency ISNA.
An Iranian man checks a scorched gas station that was set ablaze by protesters during a demonstration against a rise in gasoline prices in Eslamshahr, near the Iranian capital of Tehran, November 17, 2019. (AFP)
“The internet will come back gradually in some provinces where there are assurances the internet will not be abused,” he says.
“We understand that people have faced difficulties… but the bigger concern under the current circumstances is maintaining the country’s peace and stability.”
Demonstrations broke out in Iran on Friday after it was announced the price of gasoline would be raised by as much as 200 percent in the sanctions-hit country.
At least five deaths have been confirmed in the violence that has seen masked young men set alight gasoline stations, banks and other public property.
The full extent of the protests remains unclear, however, largely as a result of the internet restrictions.
— AFP
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