Educational Website Codeinfarsi.org Sanctioned; Campaign to Lift Sanctions Ongoing
According to investigations by the Internet and Infrastructure Commission of the Tehran Electronic Commerce Association, the educational website codeinfarsi.org is no longer accessible to Iranian users. Due to Google Cloud’s sanction policies, Iranian users are blocked by default from accessing this site.
The significance of the sanction on codeinfarsi.org for Iranians lies in the fact that this site was established by the voluntary efforts of network specialists both inside and outside Iran, serving as a learning platform for Persian speakers. The site translated specialized and authoritative knowledge from English into Persian. As stated in codeinfarsi.org’s mission: “Iranians have a proud history in various scientific fields, and by reviving that idea, we ask for your help in expanding computer science knowledge.”
Hadi Partovi, the founder of this website, has repeatedly expressed gratitude to the Iranians who contributed to the Codeinfarsi.org project. However, now that the site has become a reliable database, it has become inaccessible to Iranian users. Essentially, this sanction means losing the collective volunteer efforts inside and outside Iran to localize a valuable knowledge base for Iranians.
Google Cloud Blocks All Packets Destined for Iran
To determine the cause of the sudden inaccessibility of the service, the Internet and Infrastructure Commission tested connectivity quality via trace route with two hypotheses: filtering and sanctions.
Trace route analyzes the request path in the internet infrastructure; if a request is blocked within Iran before reaching the infrastructure company, it indicates filtering. But if the request exits Iran and is blocked afterward, it means the domain is sanctioned. The results confirmed that the restriction for Iranian users is due to sanctions.
Tests on the domain codeinfarsi.org showed that requests originating from Iranian IPs do leave Iran and even reach one hop before Google, but are blocked there. This was consistent across multiple internet providers. Conversely, requests from non-Iranian IPs or companies outside Iran returned successfully and were accessible.
The Tehran Electronic Commerce Association, representing the private sector and Iranian internet users, considers these sanctions a violation of Iranian citizens’ international rights. Accordingly, the association has contacted the site’s founders via email, requesting a solution to this issue.
Campaign: “Opposing Technology Sanctions Against the People of Iran”
On May 28th (8 Khordad 1403), the Electronic Commerce Association launched a campaign opposing technology sanctions against Iran. So far, around 4,500 digital business activists nationwide have signed it. The campaign states that technology sanctions blatantly violate human rights and the free access to information. These extensive sanctions have caused significant problems for the Iranian people.
Signatories condemn technology sanctions, especially the following:
- Restrictions on Iranian users and IPs accessing public international services, especially cloud services
- Limitations on internet purchases and connectivity of Iranian companies to international IXP networks
- Sanctions on Iranian infrastructure companies
- Removal of Iran as a nationality option in registration forms and the impossibility of registering with Iranian phone numbers (+98)
The Internet and Infrastructure Commission of the Tehran Electronic Commerce Association invites all individuals and media outlets to participate in this campaign and raise awareness among fellow citizens, aiming to increase the number of signatories and bring this effort to fruition. Public cooperation and support will undoubtedly play a vital role in facilitating this activism and achieving the campaign’s goals. [Click here to visit the campaign page.]
It is worth noting that on August 23rd (1 Shahrivar), a letter titled “Request to Lift Access Block to Persian Websites for Iranian Users” was sent to codeinfarsi.org, but no response has been received from the site’s officials to date.