Referring to the role of social networks in Iran's interceptions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia received information on this matter from the Revolutionary Guards, although it also followed the developments from the outside.
On Wednesday, on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa meeting in Moscow, Mr. Putin said that the street protests in Tehran during the latest crisis were largely generated through a group of social networks over which the Islamic Republic's authorities had no control.
He added: "This is not only the information that the Revolutionary Guards give us, but we also witnessed it from the outside."
The Russian president said that the Iranian authorities actually have only one way to deal with social networks that are not under their control, and that is to "turn everything off".
Without confirming or denying the termination of access to social networks, Putin emphasized the need for countries to control their information space to maintain security and sovereignty.
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