Iran's ongoing suppression of anti-government protests has been marked by one of the most severe internet shutdowns in recent history, while simultaneously promoting domestic internet services and messaging applications controlled by the regime. This dual strategy aims to isolate citizens from global networks while channelling them towards platforms that authorities can monitor and manipulate.
British Coastal Base for Iranian Tech Operations
The Guardian can exclusively reveal that the individuals behind one such application, Gap Messenger, reside in a British coastal town. Hadi and Mahdi Anjidani, co-founders of TS Information Technology, have established their UK branch at a tax accountancy address in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. This entity serves as the British arm of Towse'e Saman Information Technology (TSIT), an Iranian software corporation.
TSIT develops popular computer games, a payment platform designed to help Iranians circumvent international sanctions, and Gap Messenger. Marketed as an Iranian alternative to Telegram, this sleek purple application boasts encryption and promises not to share user data with third parties. However, digital rights experts investigating the platform strongly dispute these claims.
Contradictory Claims and Pro-Regime Allegiances
A comprehensive report from FilterWatch, an organisation monitoring Iran's internet censorship, identifies Gap Messenger as one of the principal actors participating in the Iranian government's internet control and suppression initiatives. The investigation suggests the application has actively contributed to state-led efforts to monitor and quash dissent.
Mahdi Anjidani, serving as TSIT's chief executive, has frequently expressed pro-regime sentiments in Iranian media outlets. During appearances on state television broadcasts, he has advocated for stringent censorship measures. In one interview with an Iranian technology publication, Anjidani praised the nation's elites for transforming international sanctions from threats into opportunities, describing himself as a "child of the Islamic Revolution."
Integration into Iran's National Internet Infrastructure
Gap Messenger and Anjidani's other platforms form integral components of Iran's domestic internet, a parallel network developed over the past decade. This government-controlled system provides basic connectivity to approximately 93 million Iranians who are otherwise largely severed from the global internet during shutdowns.
Digital rights researchers argue that this national internet represents a strategic tool for regime survival, particularly during periods of widespread unrest. The current crackdown on protests has reportedly resulted in tens of thousands of casualties, accompanied by precisely calibrated internet blackouts that isolate citizens while permitting government operations to continue uninterrupted.
Surveillance Through Domestic Applications
Iranian authorities have vigorously promoted domestic messaging applications like Gap Messenger in recent years. Multiple independent digital rights experts confirm that these platforms serve to shepherd users onto services that the regime can systematically monitor.
"The overarching objective is control," explained a researcher from the Outline Foundation, an anti-censorship organisation. "Local platforms facilitate easier monitoring of conversations, data collection, and silencing of dissidents, bypassing the legal and technical barriers associated with global services. This isn't about fostering local innovation; it's about consolidating surveillance capabilities and constricting space for independent expression."
Evidence of Data Sharing with Authorities
Gap Messenger has accumulated over one million downloads on Google's Play Store and an additional four million through Cafe Bazaar, Iran's primary domestic app marketplace. The application features built-in payment services, games, online calling functionality, and animal-themed stickers.
FilterWatch's analysis concluded that Gap Messenger appears to have provided user information to Iranian censorship authorities on at least one occasion, based on emails leaked from the attorney general's office in late 2022. This alleged data transfer contradicts the application's public privacy assurances.
Elusive Brothers and Expanding Business Empire
Neither Mahdi nor Hadi Anjidani responded to repeated Guardian inquiries. When visited at their initial Brighton registered address, Hadi briefly opened the door before closing it without comment. Neighbours describe the family as reclusive, with minimal interaction within the community.
At the BizSpace workspace in nearby Hove, where TS Information Technology maintains an office, reception staff confirmed Hadi Anjidani has utilised the space for at least thirteen years, though he only attends for scheduled appointments. Telephone calls to this office remain unanswered.
Broader Business Interests and Government Connections
Beyond Gap Messenger, the Anjidanis' business interests extend to an Iranian social network called Virasty, which reportedly has a government partner in former deputy communications minister Amir Mohammadzadeh Lajevardi. Their portfolio also includes an SMS-based advertising service and MihanPayment, a platform integrating with Iran's banking system to facilitate international transactions despite sanctions.
Mahdi Anjidani's social media presence features photographs with prominent figures including former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the son of Dubai's Sheikh Makhtoum. In one image, Ahmadinejad appears beside promotional material for TSIT's Kings Era computer game.
During a 2024 Iranian state media broadcast, Anjidani criticised foreign-owned messaging applications and virtual private networks (VPNs) that enable citizens to bypass surveillance, suggesting methods the government could employ to restrict these tools. An Iranian researcher, speaking anonymously due to fear of reprisals, noted that Anjidani was "reiterating the threats of the government, which demonstrates his proximity to governmental authorities."
Another digital rights researcher emphasised that operating domestic platforms like these in Iran represents an exclusive privilege: "Individuals permitted to maintain messaging applications within the country operate at a level comparable to oligarchs surrounding figures like Putin."
As Iran's internet shutdown continues, making corporate records largely inaccessible, the full extent of the Anjidanis' operations remains obscured. Their story highlights how technology developed from British soil has become entangled with Iran's apparatus of control and surveillance.
