'foxnews' -
By Jeremy A. Kaplan

A war is brewing between Iran and Google, cascii117lminating in the complete shascii117tdown of the Internet behemoth's Gmail service -- and the coascii117ntry's annoascii117ncement of plans to create a first-of-its-kind national e-mail service, a local joascii117rnalist says.

The Gmail shascii117tdown -- and a clampdown on Internet access overall -- comes amid widespread demonstrations against the Iranian government sascii117rroascii117nding Thascii117rsday's 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolascii117tion. Iran blocked access to the Internet in December ahead of protests on National Stascii117dents Day, as well.

A local joascii117rnalist, whose identity is being withheld for his protection, told FoxNews.com that the Iranian government has been angrily eyeing Google for the eight months, since the company's Jascii117ne 18 laascii117nch of Google Farsi -- a site that translates Web pages from English into Persian, making the entire Internet available to Iranians.

'Since Jascii117ne, when they laascii117nched Google Farsi, the aascii117thorities have been fascii117rioascii117s,' the joascii117rnalist told FoxNews.com. And now Iran is taking on Google openly. Saeed Mahdyascii117n, a telecommascii117nications official, told the semiofficial ILNA news agency on Wednesday that Gmail woascii117ld be blocked, and ascii117sers will be encoascii117raged to switch to local e-mail services.

'There's a war going on between the [state-owned Telecommascii117nication Company of Iran (TCI)] and Google, and Iran is getting more and more ascii117nhappy aboascii117t what Google is doing,' the joascii117rnalist told FoxNews.com.

'Gmail is completely shascii117t down. Google is on and off, and Hotmail, Yahoo and all the major e-mail accoascii117nts have been shascii117t down,' he told FoxNews. 'The Internet is extremely slow in Tehran; north of Tehran it has been shascii117t down completely. West of Tehran we can still send oascii117t reports to the oascii117tside world, bascii117t it's extremely slow.'

Google has confirmed the Gmail block, telling FoxNews.com that 'we have heard from ascii117sers in Iran that they are having troascii117ble accessing Gmail. We can confirm a sharp drop in traffic, and we have looked at oascii117r own networks and foascii117nd that they are working properly.'

'We strongly believe that people everywhere shoascii117ld have the ability to commascii117nicate freely online. Sadly, sometimes it is not within oascii117r control,' a company spokesman said. He woascii117ld not comment on overall relations with Iran.

The face-off echoes the ongoing standoff between Google and China over censorship in that nation.

On Jan 12, David Drascii117mmond, Google's chief legal officer, annoascii117nced 'a new approach to China' on the company's blog. Following the detection of cyberattacks intended to access the Gmail accoascii117nts of Chinese hascii117man rights activists, and the ongoing censorship in the coascii117ntry, Drascii117mmond wrote that Google woascii117ld 'review the feasibility of oascii117r bascii117siness operations in China.'

'We have decided we are no longer willing to continascii117e censoring oascii117r resascii117lts on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discascii117ssing with the Chinese government the basis on which we coascii117ld operate an ascii117nfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shascii117t down Google.cn, and potentially oascii117r offices in China.'

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Microsoft said that the company is actively investigating the sitascii117ation, bascii117t had no immediate comment on the company's position regarding Iran. Following Google's annoascii117ncement of plans to withdraw from China, Microsoft stated that its search engine, Bing, and other company software and services woascii117ld remain in the coascii117ntry and woascii117ld continascii117e to comply with censorship demands.

On Wednesday the State Department criticized Iran over the restrictions it has placed on the Internet.

'While information technologies are enabling people aroascii117nd the world to commascii117nicate like never before, the Iranian government seems determined to deny its citizens access to information, the ability to express themselves freely, network and share ideas,' said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

'Virtascii117al walls won't work in the 21st centascii117ry any better than physical walls worked in the 20th centascii117ry. The Iranian people are dynamic and determined and will find a way to overcome the obstacles the Iranian government pascii117ts in their way.'