Iran Bans Use Of Popular Telegram Messaging App

Iran’s judiciary on Monday banned the hugely popular Telegram messaging app, which the authorities have accused of allowing opposition groups to fuel unrest.

A judge in Tehran gave “the order to interrupt Telegram”, the judiciary’s Mizan Online news agency said.

The move comes on the heels of a recent presidential directive banning all government workers from using foreign messenger apps to communicate.

Telegram, built by Russian tech guru Pavel Durov, is the most popular social network in Iran with some 40 million users, roughly half the population.