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The people of Iran are blocked from using Twitter and other social networking websites, although Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is one of the few exceptions to that rule. This situation could change however. On Tuesday, Rouhani hinted in tweets traded with Twitter's chairman and co-founder Jack Dorsey that his country's social media ban could eventually ease up.
@HassanRouhani Good evening, President. Are citizens of Iran able to read your tweets?
— Jack Dorsey (@jack) October 1, 2013
@HassanRouhani thank you. Please let us know how we can help to make it a reality.
— Jack Dorsey (@jack) October 1, 2013
Rouhani, who has been president for about a month now, has been on Twitter since May — his first tweet shared a link to a YouTube video announcing his run for the presidency. He also tweeted to US President Barack Obama after the two spoke on the phone last week. In his tweets with Dorsey, Rouhani mentions a recent interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour in which he said he's working to "ensure that the people of Iran will comfortably be able to access all information globally and to use it." Still, he explained to Amanpour that delivering on this would take at least a few months.
Rouhani admitted that his supporters used social media heavily during his presidential campaign and that hasn't stopped just because he took office. "I always welcome their views on these networks as well as those who criticize me, because the government does need to be open to criticism," he said. "There are large social networks at a global level around today and I believe that all human beings have a right, and all nations have a right, to use them."