Following Israel, in 1993, Iran became the second country in the Middle East to be connected to the World Wide Web. Initially, access to the internet was limited to universities and research institutes, but according to the World Bank, fixed broadband subscriptions in Iran increased from 176 in 2000 to almost 11 million in 2021. Following a similar trend, mobile cellular subscriptions increased from 9,200 in 1994 to almost 136 million in 2021. These phones are now connected to the internet and, therefore, offer access to social media. This development marks a remarkable achievement for a developing country but also raises serious challenges to an authoritarian political system that limits the personal and political freedoms of the citizenry. It is therefore no surprise that regime officials, such as Hojjat al-Islam Hossein Taeb, an advisor to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief commander, demand further restrictions of the internet. 

• February 13: Delivering a speech at Amir Kabir University celebrating the 44th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Taeb discussed restricting internet access in Iran. He said, as quoted by Fararu News, “We are engaged in hybrid warfare. When it comes to hard wars, we have reached deterrence. God be praised, we have no shortage of infantry. Should, God forbid it, something happen, a greater percentage of the people will volunteer,” for the war effort, “in comparison with the imposed war,” referencing the 1980 Iraqi invasion of Iran. He continued, “God willing, that day will never occur … But the internet is in the hands of the enemy, which is why we are compelled to restrict it so that we deny victory to the enemy in a hybrid war … We must strengthen our defenses against soft threats.”