"Shutting down the Internet service will depend on security plans and on the Ministry of Telecommunications," said Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, the interior minister, according to the Etemad daily.
At the same time, Mohammad Javad Mahmoudi, a senior election official, said the Internet shutdown would help ensure that the government had unimpeded Internet service for the election, according to ISNA news agency.
Tehran is using sophisticated filtering equipment to block hundreds of websites and blogs critical of its policies. On August 2007, the regime announced the launching of “Internet Police Patrol.”
In 2006, the Iranian regime banned download speeds on private computers faster than 128 kilobytes per second.
The Iranian regime’s State Security Force regularly closes down Internet cafes and detains people, as part of a broad crackdown under the pretext of so-called “immoral behavior.”