<s>
The	O
Telegram	B-Application
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
service	I-Application
has	O
had	O
more	O
than	O
50	O
million	O
users	O
in	O
Iran	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
disruptions	O
caused	O
by	O
the	O
Iranian	O
government	O
in	O
the	O
Viber	B-Application
and	O
Line	B-Application
services	O
,	O
the	O
Iranian	O
people	O
were	O
attracted	O
to	O
Telegram	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Iranian	O
Government	O
has	O
repeatedly	O
considered	O
the	O
topic	O
of	O
blocking	O
access	O
to	O
Telegram	B-Application
and	O
has	O
always	O
imposed	O
limitations	O
on	O
users	O
 '	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
protests	O
on	O
8	O
December	O
2017	O
,	O
Telegram	B-Application
was	O
blocked	O
for	O
more	O
than	O
a	O
week	O
and	O
finally	O
became	O
available	O
again	O
on	O
23	O
December	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
judicial	O
order	O
of	O
the	O
Tehran	O
Prosecutor	O
's	O
Office	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
said	O
that	O
Telegram	B-Application
must	O
be	O
blocked	O
by	O
ISPs	O
in	O
such	O
a	O
way	O
that	O
it	O
could	O
not	O
be	O
achieved	O
even	O
with	O
tools	O
similar	O
to	O
VPNs	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
two-time	O
experience	O
of	O
blocking	O
Telegram	B-Protocol
in	I-Protocol
Iran	I-Protocol
shows	O
that	O
Iranian	O
users	O
did	O
not	O
migrate	O
to	O
alternative	O
services	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
foreign	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
or	O
the	O
domestic	O
Soroush	B-Application
messenger	I-Application
,	O
but	O
resorted	O
to	O
Internet	B-Application
censorship	I-Application
circumvention	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
27	O
,	O
2018	O
,	O
Telecoms	O
officials	O
said	O
that	O
Telegram	B-Application
's	O
license	O
to	O
site	O
its	O
CDN	O
servers	O
in	O
Iran	O
had	O
been	O
revoked	O
,	O
thereby	O
it	O
should	O
move	O
it	O
servers	O
outside	O
the	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
20	O
October	O
2015	O
,	O
Pavel	O
Durov	O
,	O
CEO	B-Application
of	O
Telegram	B-Application
LLC	O
said	O
,	O
after	O
denying	O
the	O
request	O
of	O
Iranian	O
authorities	O
for	O
private	O
information	O
about	O
citizens	O
of	O
the	O
country	O
,	O
Telegram	B-Application
was	O
blocked	O
for	O
hours	O
in	O
Iran	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
unblocked	O
afterwards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pavel	O
Durov	O
wrote	O
an	O
answer	O
letter	O
and	O
announced	O
that	O
"	O
Iranian	O
authorities	O
want	O
to	O
use	O
Telegram	B-Application
to	O
spy	O
on	O
their	O
citizens	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telegram	B-Application
messenger	I-Application
played	O
a	O
major	O
role	O
in	O
spreading	O
the	O
news	O
about	O
the	O
protests	O
and	O
served	O
as	O
the	O
primary	O
platform	O
to	O
unify	O
the	O
protesters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
30	O
December	O
,	O
the	O
Iranian	O
government	O
requested	O
the	O
closing	O
of	O
a	O
Telegram	B-Application
channel	O
called	O
"	O
Amad	O
News	O
"	O
(	O
AMAD	O
standing	O
for	O
Agaahi	O
,	O
awareness	O
,	O
Mobaareze	O
,	O
combat	O
&	O
Democracy	O
)	O
operated	O
by	O
Roohollah	O
Zam	O
which	O
called	O
for	O
use	O
of	O
handmade	O
explosives	O
against	O
the	O
security	O
forces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
request	O
was	O
accepted	O
by	O
Telegram	B-Application
since	O
it	O
also	O
violated	O
their	O
terms	O
of	O
service	O
and	O
policies	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
CEO	B-Application
Pavel	O
Durov	O
received	O
criticism	O
for	O
complying	O
with	O
the	O
request	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
31	O
December	O
,	O
the	O
Iranian	O
government	O
blocked	O
access	O
to	O
Telegram	B-Application
after	O
it	O
had	O
refused	O
to	O
ban	O
another	O
channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Telegram	B-Application
CEO	B-Application
Pavel	O
Durov	O
tweeted	O
that	O
"	O
Iranian	O
authorities	O
are	O
blocking	O
access	O
to	O
Telegram	B-Application
for	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
Iranians	O
after	O
our	O
public	O
refusal	O
to	O
shut	O
downtelegram.me/sedaiemardomand	O
other	O
peacefully	O
protesting	O
channels.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
government	O
lifted	O
restrictions	O
on	O
Telegram	B-Application
on	O
13	O
January	O
2018	O
.	O
but	O
again	O
applied	O
permanent	O
restrictions	O
after	O
late	O
April	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Iranian	O
government	O
created	O
another	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
app	O
that	O
works	O
beside	O
telegram	B-Application
called	O
Talagram	O
or	O
Telegram	B-Application
Golden	O
and	O
one	O
more	O
clone	O
called	O
Hotgram	O
with	O
overhauled	O
censorship	O
and	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
one	O
day	O
after	O
Telegram	B-Application
introduced	O
the	O
voice	O
call	O
feature	O
in	O
the	O
messenger	O
,	O
the	O
voice	O
call	O
functionality	O
was	O
completely	O
blocked	O
in	O
Iran	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mahmoud	O
Vaezi	O
Chief	O
of	O
Staff	O
of	O
the	O
President	O
of	O
Iran	O
said	O
reason	O
for	O
blocking	O
Telegram	B-Application
free	O
voice	O
calls	O
is	O
so	O
Iranian	O
corporations	O
keep	O
revenue	O
from	O
voice	O
calls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
Iranian	O
government	O
policy	O
to	O
censor	O
every	O
social	O
network	O
and	O
instant	B-Application
messaging	I-Application
service	I-Application
in	O
Iran	O
,	O
they	O
have	O
continued	O
to	O
disrupt	O
access	O
to	O
Telegram	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Saturday	O
,	O
19	O
May	O
2015	O
,	O
the	O
telecommunication	O
company	O
of	O
Iran	O
blocked	O
Telegram	B-Application
access	O
in	O
some	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
Tehran	O
province	O
and	O
some	O
other	O
provinces	O
without	O
prior	O
notice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
nationwide	O
protests	O
in	O
Iran	O
in	O
2017	O
and	O
2018	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
prevent	O
rioting	O
,	O
the	O
Supreme	O
National	O
Security	O
Council	O
of	O
Iran	O
decided	O
to	O
cut	O
off	O
all	O
social	O
networks	O
,	O
including	O
Telegram	B-Application
,	O
although	O
it	O
was	O
said	O
to	O
be	O
temporary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Telegram	B-Application
was	O
banned	O
by	O
the	O
government	O
on	O
May	O
1	O
,	O
2018	O
,	O
following	O
street	O
protests	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
until	O
one	O
year	O
from	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
2017	O
riots	O
,	O
the	O
Iranian	O
government	O
made	O
available	O
a	O
customized	O
version	O
of	O
Telegram	B-Application
that	O
was	O
under	O
their	O
domain	O
.	O
</s>
