Iranian authorities have lifted a ban on Meta’s instant messaging platform WhatsApp and Google Play as a first step to scale back internet restrictions.

Iran's government on Tuesday said it had lifted a ban on access to WhatsApp and Google Play after more than two years, the official IRNA news agency reported. The report said the country’s Supreme Council of Cyber Space made the decision in a meeting led by reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian,

Iranian authorities remove restrictions on Meta's messaging platform WhatsApp and on Google Play, marking an initial move to ease internet limitations.

The Supreme Cyberspace Council, which is tasked with safeguarding the internet for Iranian citizens, voted unanimously to lift restrictions on a number of foreign-owned applications during a meeting today, according to a report by the state news agency IRNA.

Decision reached during meeting of Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace, reports state-run news agency IRNA - Anadolu Ajansı

The ban was lifted unanimously after it was deemed that that the restrictions have 'achieved nothing but anger and added costs to people's lives'.

The ban on WhatsApp and Google Play was introduced in 2022 amid nationwide protests over the death of a woman detained by the morality police for allegedly violating strict dress codes.