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A young Iranian woman shows her mobile phone without internet connection in Tehran, November 23, 2019. ATTA KENARE / AFP

Following the demonstrations in mid-November against the rise in the price of gasoline and the ferocious repression that followed, the Iranians experienced a 10-day internet outage. Since then, they have worried about the announced strengthening of the national internet.

The authorities keep promising to create what they call "the national internet", to suggest that it would no longer be useful to have access to the global network.

" When the internet was cut, I felt like I was in prison ... I have the same feeling when I hear about the desire to create the national internet and to cut the international internet ", explains an Iranian on Twitter.

وقتی اینترنت قطع بود احساس میکردم تو زندانم ..... حالا هم که از قصدشون برای ملی کردن و بستن اینترنت خارجی صحبت در میونه باز همون حس رو دارم .... حس یه زندانی که اومده مرخصی این حس رو موقع سربازی هم داشتم و ازش متنفرم # اينترنت # اینترنت_ملی # آزادی # اينترنت_آزاد

Easy Rider (@ EasyRider6913) December 9, 2019

This feeling, many expressed it as soon as the network was restored: " Hello freedom! Today the internet is reconnected to the mobile phone after 14 days! Exclaimed Mohsen * on November 28, contacted by phone.

Iran compared to North Korea

Since the blackout that followed the demonstrations against the price of gasoline, the discussions on the national Internet are going well and in front of the possibility of a new cut of the world Internet, the population is worried. For Zahra *, the establishment of the national internet " is an insult to the Iranians, because everything we do, we do with the global network ," she says, before adding: " S 'there is a national internet, we will be like North Korea. We will no longer be able to use Google or Gmail when more than half of Iranians work with it . ” Some internet users are of the same opinion: " I write here the hastag" We are becoming North Korea ". Like that, tomorrow, when we no longer have the Internet, there will be a memory of us for the world, ”write several of them.

این هشتگ # کره_شمالی_میشویم رو میزنم

پسفردا اگه دیگه اینترنت نداشتیم
(اسیر و زندونی شدیم مثل همین 2 3 هفته پیش که اینترنت ملی شد)
بمونه یادگاری ما ، برای جهانیان ...

Sheewana (@ShEeWaNa_MhR) December 11, 2019

However, according to Kavé Salamatian, professor of computer science at the University of Savoy, Iran will never become North Korea: “ North Korea has no connection with the world. The Iranians have a clear vision of what is going on outside . ” For him, Iran is rather moving towards the Chinese model. A national internet […] with connections to the outside when necessary, ” he explains.

This is what President Hassan Rohani said on December 11: “ Why would we want to cut the international internet? We want that in parallel to this global network our national internet also be powerful […] so that our people have both ”. But the Iranians are skeptical. Cut for the same reasons as three weeks ago, you who are not ashamed! “, Replies a surfer, recalling the cut in mid-November.

Minister's surprise

On social networks, the Minister of Information and Communication Technologies, Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi, is the most criticized. Internet users hold him responsible for the blackout . This Iranian woman therefore addresses the minister directly, explaining to him the harmful consequences of the Internet cutoff for small businesses.

Ali *, co-founder of an Iranian start-up , recently left Iran for London and, according to him, " given the climate of psychological insecurity that has emerged, many investors and entrepreneurs are in doubt and are ask whether […] it is really a good idea to work in Iran or not ”. The damage to the Iranian economy is indeed estimated at a billion and a half dollars in total, according to the former head of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, Mohsen Jalalpour.

In this context, the " surprise " announced on December 9 by Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi, rather than thrilling the Iranians, concerned them. " Me, I saved all the documents stored on Drive and Dropbox, I am ready for the surprise ", one can thus read. We have had surprises all the time. Do you remember : a Friday evening, two or three weeks ago? ", Tweeted another with reference to the increase in the price of gasoline.

The revelation of the surprise was to be made Thursday, December 12 on the networks. It concerned the sending of parcels by drones from the Iranian post office. The minister also said he heard requests from the Iranians, particularly regarding the censorship of certain sites and applications. I hope that my efforts to cancel the filtering will bear fruit. But hey, at the level of the law, I have no power over this, "he said.

Internet users did not wait for the revelation to launch a call to block the minister on Twitter. " We surprise you, we release you, minister of sadism, the mourning people need no surprise!" “, Writes a surfer.

ما سوپرایزت میکنیم
و از اینجا بیرونت میکنیم وزیر سادیسمی
ملت عزادار نیازی به سوپرایز نداره

ریپورت و بلاک 👍 pic.twitter.com/Ko5fVsVPNS

مادمازل (@ sara_hg93) December 11, 2019

* The first names have been changed.