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"For the first time since the \"green revolution\" that followed the 2009 elections in Iran, citizens of the country can access Twitter and Facebook.\nThe social media sites, blocked for four years, were available in at least some parts of the country Monday, according to multiple local reports, tweets and updates. They were available via multiple service providers. No official announcement was made, however, leading some observers to speculate that the access could be a technical glitch. (Normally you'd see the government-imposed screenshot above when trying to access Facebook.com in Iran.) \nSee also: Iran Reportedly Developing 'Intelligent Software' to Control Social Media Access\nBut, then again, granting access would also make sense. Iranian officials have been moving in this direction for some time. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been on Facebook since December and on Instagram since August 2012. Newly elected president Hassan Rouhani has described Internet censorship as \"futile.\" \nRouhani started tweeting vigorously in June. Meanwhile, the Twitter account of the Iranian foreign minister was verified after some controversy late last week. A state committee, rather than the president, would have had to take the decision to unblock the services, but no doubt Rouhani wields some influence there.\nSee also: Iran Is Giving Citizens Government-Assigned Email Addresses\nMany tech-savvy Iranians have been accessing social networks despite the blackout, via encrypted VPN networks. An Iranian police chief said in January that the country was developing \"intelligent software to control social networking websites\" \u2014 clamping down on posts and tweets used to organize anti-government rallies or spread dissent.\nIn other words, Iran may have decided it's a lot easier to control dissidents by letting them on social media without a private VPN \u2014 all the better to see what the mood of the country actually is.\nStill, Iranians were thrilled to be rejoining the international community on social media:\n\nI'm happy that my first tweet from Iran via the mobile network is on the unblocking of #Twitter and #Facebook\n\u2014 Ali Hashem \u0639\u0644\u064A \u0647\u0627\u0634\u0645 (@alihashem_tv) September 16, 2013\n\n\nNo idea if and how long this will last, but I'm enjoying it for the time being.\n\u2014 Jason Rezaian (@jrezaian) September 16, 2013\n\nUPDATE, Sept. 17, 2013, 10.34 a.m.: The Iranian government blocked access to Twitter and Facebook again on Tuesday, saying the sites were unblocked due to a technical glitch.\nImage: BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP\n      window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement('script');js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);};\n_msla(\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\",\"twitter_jssdk\");"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/09/16/twitter-facebook-iran/>