Islamic conservative authorized Internet for Iran in 1989

So I just got off a Skype call with Farhad Ardalan to learn more about the early days of the Iranian Internet back in 1989. It wasn’t until 1992 that Iran was connected via EARN to the Internet.

Fun fact: According to Ardalan, the man who authorized Iran’s first Internet connection was Mohammad-Javad Larijani (pictured). At the time, Larijani was the director of the Institute for Studies in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics in Tehran. He is currently an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and heads the human rights council in the Judiciary department.

If the name Larijani sounds familiar, it’s because his brothers have also held important roles in the Iranian government. One of his brothers, Ali Larijani, was the chief Iranian nuclear negotiator and is currently speaker of the Iranian parliament.

However, his other brother, Sadeq Larijani, is the new head of the Iranian Judiciary. He’s the one that Hossein Derakhshan’s father, Hassan Derakhshan, recently wrote a letter to, trying to get more information about his detained son.

All three are the progeny of the late Grand Ayatollah Hashem Amoli Larijani.