Mark Zuckerberg has been ordered by a judge in southern Iran to appear in court to answer complaints by individuals who say Facebook-owned applications Instagram and Whatsapp violate their privacy, semiofficial news agency ISNA reported Tuesday.
The two apps have also been ordered to be blocked by the judge, Ruhollah Momen Nasab, an official with the paramilitary Basij force, said.
Since there is no extradition treaty between Iran and the U.S., it is highly unlikely for the Facebook founder and CEO to appear in an Iranian court, The Telegraph reported.
In recent years, some Iranian courts have issued similar rulings that could not be executed.
"Another Iranian court last week had ordered for Instagram to be blocked over privacy concerns. However, users in capital Tehran could still access both applications around noon on Tuesday," the Associated Press reported. "In Iran, websites and internet apps have sometimes been reported blocked but remained operational."
Although social websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are banned in the country, some senior leaders like Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif are active on Twitter. Even top officials have unfettered access to social media.
However, the controls are easily bypassed by Iran's youth and technological-savvy citizens who use proxy servers or other workarounds.
The administration of moderate President Hassan Rouhani is opposed to blocking such websites before authorities create local alternatives, according to The Telegraph.
As the country negotiates with world powers over the country's contested nuclear program, social media has offered a new way for him and his administration to reach out to the West.
"We should see the cyber world as an opportunity," Rouhani said last week, according to the official IRNA news agency. "Why are we so shaky? Why don't we trust our youth?"
Hard-liners, meanwhile, accuse Rouhani of failing to stop the spread of what they deem as "decadent" Western culture in Iran, the AP reported.
