Even Officials Used Banned Platforms in Iran Resignation Saga

The Iranian foreign minister’s on-again, off-again resignation played out across two tense days on the very social media platforms that are either banned in his country or possibly headed that way.

Mohammad Javad Zarif got the whole thing rolling by posting his resignation around midnight Monday on Instagram, which isn’t banned -- though efforts to do so are in the works. An online feeding frenzy followed, thanks to virtual private networks that are commonly used in Iran to sidestep bans on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.