The head of Iran‘s judiciary on Monday ordered the attorney-general to investigate reports of the illegal sale of “white SIM cards,” which provide unrestricted internet access, he confirmed on his official X/Twitter account.
The SIM cards bypass the regime’s internet blackout, which is entering its third month. Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i said that the “white SIM cards” should only have been given to “individuals and groups with specific qualifications.”
However, his office had received reports of “discriminatory and corrupt” allocation for financial benefit, he said.
Most of the SIM cards are provided to individuals close to, or affiliated with, the government, BBC’s Farsi-language outlet said.
Internet monitor NetBlocks reported earlier on Monday that the internet cutoff in Iran has reached its 59th day, after “1392 hours of near-total disconnection from the outside world.”
“The prolonged shutdown continues to cast a veil of digital darkness over human rights violations on the ground,” NetBlocks wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Mehdi Tabatabaei, Deputy for Communications and Information of the Iranian President’s Office, wrote on X that President Masoud Pezeshkian is “strongly opposed to restricting people’s access to international internet. Specialized references in wartime conditions note that the risks of reopening the internet are noteworthy. The Internet Pro project, which is underway with the approval of the Supreme National Security Council, is merely a temporary solution for essential access to the global internet.”
“With limited capacity and an even more limited user base, therefore, any discussion of revenue generation is a misguided diversion. Nevertheless, the duty of the relevant authorities – whether the Shomam Specialized Committee, the Ministry of Communications, or the National Center for Cyberspace – remains to provide explanations to the public and persuade general opinion. In this regard, they have fallen short,” Tabatabaei added.