TEHRAN The different officials and organizations reacted to the report on closure of some Internet cafes in Tehran. Press wrote here yesterday that the Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) has denied press reports of the wholesale closure. "We closed 15 cybercafes in three areas of Tehran, calling on the owners to obtain a license from the Trade Union for Computer and Business-Machine Operators," a police official said.

Five were authorized to reopen after receiving approval from the union, he said, while another 250 were warned they would need an operating permit as well as an Internet license.

An official at the Ministry of Post, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT) said that the recent closure of several Internet cafes was aimed at controlling materials.

A Persian daily cited the unnamed official as saying that the PTT did not play any role in those closures.

Some 400 Internet cafes in the capital Tehran had been closed last week.

The Reporters Without Borders sent a letter to Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi criticizing the closures.