Sobh, the monthly newspaper of the most puritanical clergy, has called for a parallel ban on the Internet. But parliament has yet to take up the issue, and the combination of scientists and clerics seeking access, plus upgraded telephone lines, means that those eager to be on line are likely to get there soon. Anticipating that day, the government is trying to centralize all access through the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Having screened thousands of sites on the World Wide Web and at least started blocking those deemed unhealthy, the ministry is expanding subscriptions. Government officials said the number of banned sites was not available, but they include those with information distributed by opposition groups like the Mujahedeen Khalq, based in Iraq, or by faiths that Iran abhors like the Bahai, as well as pornography and any information seen as Western propaganda.
Price remains a hurdle for most people.
And there are large initiation fees. Outside the government, a few services have established Internet links. For two years much of the Iranian university system has depended on a trunk line established by the Institute for the Study of Mathematics and Science to a sister institution in Austria. But with an estimated 30,000 people having accounts and the line limited to six people at once, getting through requires patience. Users also said that the international telephone lines have sometimes been severed because of a continuing feud with the government over whether the universities will retain their independent access once the Telecommunications Ministry system is fully operational.