They were fanned in part by messages sent on the Telegram messaging app, which authorities blocked Sunday along with the photo-sharing app Instagram, which is owned by tech giant Facebook. On Sunday, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov wrote on Twitter that authorities had blocked access to the app. "Iranian authorities are blocking access to Telegram for the majority of Iranians after our public refusal to shut down ... peacefully protesting channels,'' he wrote. Facebook itself has been banned in Iran since protests against the disputed 2009 re-election of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Videos circulating on social media late Saturday appeared to show fallen protesters in Doroud as gunshots sounded in the background.

Source: Bangkok Post December 31, 2017 13:30 UTC