Iranians may struggle to get around the government’s Twitter ban, but their highest elected official, President @HassanRouhani, can’t seem to get enough of the site, whether he’s tweeting out a selfie at a weaver’s loom, or calling for #moderation, or sharing a pic of himself sitting beside (and a smidge below) Iran’s highest unelected official, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei. The irony of Rouhani’s tweet-a-thon proved too rich for Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. “Good Evening, President,” he tweeted to Rouhani. “Are citizens of Iran able to read your tweets?”
He got a response five hours later. “Evening, @Jack,” Rouhani wrote. “As I told @camanpour, my efforts geared 2 ensure my ppl’ll comfortably b able 2 access all info globally as is their #right.”
The tweet seemed to disarm Dorsey, who thanked Rouhani and wrote back, “Please let us know how we can help to make it a reality.” That will depend on Rouhani’s willingness to lean on Iran’s Supreme Council, the gatekeepers to the forbidden corners of the web. Rouhani has appointed an ally, Mahmoud Vaezi, to lead the council, but it also includes members of the Revolutionary Guard, who are sworn to protect the nation from “deviant movements.”
MORE: Sorry Iran, No Tweets for You!
[CNN]