Iran is the First Country to Ban Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go, of course, is a worldwide phenomenon, enjoyed by millions around the world and the new leading cause of traffic accidents, trespassing, and walking off the sides of cliffs. Indeed, for all the love and acclaim its earned from fans, there are people who are less than thrilled it exists, and chef among them are leaders of world governments. Famously, Russia claims Pokemon Go was designed by the CIA to spy on everyone, but they're far from the only leaders to take issue with the app: specifically, Iran has become the first country to actually ban the app, so its citizens can neither download it or play it on their phones... not legally, anyway.

This ban was enacted by their--and this is their full, real title--Supreme Council of Virtual Spaces, who said they closed it down due to "unspecified security concerns", and the fact that the creators of the app were unwilling to cooperate with them, for whatever it was they wanted the cooperation for.

Again, while there have been restrictions placed on the game around the world, this is the first place, interestingly enough, where there's an outright ban. I would have thought this would have come from the Chinese or something, or even the Russians, but not Iran. Not that Iran is a surprising choice, mind, it's not exactly known for being a haven for tolerance, but I would have lost this bet if it had been a wager.

Regardless. That's a bummer for Iranian Pokemon Fans, who'll either need to find some other way to scratch their Pokemon itch, or just get a VPN and use that. Both work.