TEHRAN, Nov 30_An American VPN research and advisory company has urged US President Donald Trump to ratchet up the country’s acts of sabotage targeting cyberworld activity by various Iranian entities.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club(YJC)_Earlier this week, VPN.com CEO Michael Gargiulo wrote a letter to Trump, advising that Washington eliminate all global Internet access and service to all “.ir domains,” which number over 1.3 million, the company said in a press release. The letter was also addressed to the US Treasury Department, and Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
The domains’ services serve as handy and indispensible means of assistance to every Iranian, taking care of a whole host of their everyday needs, ranging from cutting the red tape to online shopping and entertainment.
The move, the US company’s 26-year-old CEO claimed, had to be taken in response to “the most extreme censorship measures in Iranian history.”
He was referring to the Islamic Republic’s recently limiting access to the Internet for security reasons after riots broke out in several cities across the country over gasoline price hikes.
During the melee, the riotous elements, dozens of whom were later found to be in the service of foreign interests, including that of the US, would resort to extensive violence, setting fire to, looting, or destroying various public facilities, including banks, gas stations, and department stores.
Tehran says a group of “saboteurs” were using online services like navigation and maps to coordinate their activities in large cities across the country.
Mobile and Wi-Fi Internet access has, however, been restored countrywide. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi clarified on Monday that while Tehran recognizes free access to information as a right, the restriction had been applied during the riots only to safeguard national security, adding that connectivity was re-established later nationwide as the situation improved.
Nevertheless, Gargiulo called the security precaution a “malign and oppressive decision,” recommending sanctions that block access to more than 1,131,300 .ir domains, “all of which cannot currently be accessed by Iranian citizens due to government-initiated censorship.” His comments came while the precaution taken by Tehran had exempted the specific domains in order not to cripple public services.
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