Durov: Telegram ready to cut ties with authorities of Russia and Iran

Messenger Telegram can cut all ties with the governments of Russia and Iran because it regularly faces accusations and restrictions, the messenger’s founder Pavel Durov said on his Telegram channel.

“We are always ready to cut our personal and business ties with these countries so that they have no leverage of influence on us. They may try to block us on their own territory, but, just as I said in my previous post about China, even this may not help them. In the end, freedom and privacy of private life will prevail,” Durov said.

Durov added that the situation in Iran is not that much better, but it looks like it is improving in the right way. Despite disputes among Iranian politicians on how to regulate the Internet, Iran does not block Telegram.

On Wednesday, Durov said that Russia’s Federal Security Service has compiled a protocol against Telegram for violation of the so-called Yarovaya laws. On Tuesday, Iranian news agency ISNA said that the country has launched a criminal case against Durov as Telegram is popular among members of the ISIS terroristic group, and is used in drug smuggling and human trafficking.

Telegram has no legal presence in Russia and Iran after it terminated relations with St. Petersburg company Telegraph which protected the messenger from spam after Russian authorities allegedly threatened to close the messenger, Prime agency reported.