Iran’s minister of communications, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, emphasized the importance of a national internet for Iran due to the requests that the government receives from the high-ranking clerics.

According to Tasnim News Agency, Jahromi stated: “We have not gained our religious culture cheap, and we cannot ignore it apathetically.”

Regarding the security of “the Defense Shield of the National Network,” he stated: “We did 142 tests to examine the independence of the national network of information and see if the internet is shut down, will our networks work? All 142 tests were successful.”

The National Network of Information is an internet project by the government of Iran in order to expand what is called “the secure national infrastructure network in Iran”. The project has also been referred to as the “National Internet”.

The goal of the project has been announced as “sovereignty in different fields such as online business, employment, culture, and other online fields”.

According to IRNA, the first suggestion for the national internet was made by Ahmadinejad administration in 2005.

International reports suggest that the Islamic Republic government is spending $2.85 billion dollars on national internet.

Experts believe that this project will greatly increase the regime’s control over the internet. They believe the government might be able to decide to cut off access to the internet in times of crisis. In that case, Iranian users will only be able to access websites available on the national internet, and proxy software cannot give them access to international services.