TEHRAN— On Wednesday, the Iranian tourism minister made a joke about offering Cristiano Ronaldo to install local messaging apps in order to contact families and friends outside Iran.

Answering a journalist's question about providing Ronaldo unlimited Internet access, Ezzatollah Zarghami said he must install national communication apps such as ‘Eitaa’ and ‘Bale’ so that he can communicate with his family and friends.

“If Ronaldo comes to Iran, he should naturally install the Bale and Eitaa platforms,” he said, in reference to two major national messaging apps.

“He can contact his wife and children and neighborhood friends and everyone else, and tell them all to install them as well, and he should feel lucky to be able to do that too,” Zarghami told reporters with a smile after a cabinet meeting.

The minister's words about free Internet have a history. Last year, in response to Internet limitations in the country, Zarghami became the first senior official to propose special SIM cards for tourists so they could access unrestricted Internet.

His remarks, however, caused surprise among some Iranian citizens who had been grappling with severe Internet restrictions, unable to access the online world as freely as their foreign counterparts did .

Zarghami’s joke was probably a hint to underline the need to provide foreign travelers with unrestricted SIM cards as a pillar for tourism.

His recent comments, however, once again sparked a debate that transcended the boundaries of football and plunged into public opinion.

The Islamic Republic due to some considerations has restricted access to Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, and social media websites such as TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. However, some citizens may bypass curbs using virtual private networks (VPNs).

Ronaldo’s team, Al-Nassr, is scheduled to arrive in Tehran next week for an Asian Champions League match against Persepolis FC.

AFM