Iran has denied reports that it plans to block all content from the outside world when it starts its own internal clean intranet.
Reports emerged over the weekend that Communications Minister Reza Taghipour had published plans to block all access that wasn’t part of its own network later this year, in a move that would echo previous blocks on external social networking tools in the country.
“All internet service providers should only present national internet by August,” Taghipour had reportedly said in a statement quoted by newspapers, including the International Business Times.
But according to Iranian authorities, the statement was not from official sources and the idea of a complete block on external websites and services was an 1 April hoax that was picked up late.
“The report is in no way confirmed by the ministry” and is “completely baseless,” the Government said in a statement sent to the AFP news agency.
According to Tehran, the false reporting was “Western propaganda”, but the officials didn’t deny plans for a “national information network” that would act as a country-wide intranet by early 2013.
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