Tehran: The Iranian government has launched a new messaging app “Soroush Messenger” which also includes stickers wishing death to Israel and Freemasons. Replete with “Death to America” and pro-Khamenei emojis aims at countering the popularity of Telegram service which has concerned the authorities who suspect it was a driving force behind anti-government protests in December and January.
The new app, “Soroush”, features emojis featuring chador-wearing women and attacks on the United States, Israel, the US and Freemasonry. The app is being introduced as an alternative to Telegram.
The first 5 users of Soroush will get gold coins as the gift. This was announced on ‘Soroush’ page on Telegram.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the first person to register on the application. He has announced to close his Telegram account and open Soroush account.
Nearly about 50 million Iranians currently use Telegram. 50 lakh users are said to have registered themselves with Soroush.