> is there some sort of special license or permission required to get access to computing resources
Mostly not. Censorship works by elimination, not by requiring initial permission. The main exception is internet access to blocked services. Government supporters get access to services that are otherwise blocked to the public.
> They claimed to believe that it was blocked because of US sanctions and denied that the government blocked any websites
The government and their supporters are bad liers. By bad, I mean they don't even try to make it convincing. The president told a foreign journalist that covering is optional in Iran. That is while their "morality police" has killed a woman and the whole country is burning in riots. This is while that same journalist is wearing scarf to be allowed to talk to the president, in US!
Mostly not. Censorship works by elimination, not by requiring initial permission. The main exception is internet access to blocked services. Government supporters get access to services that are otherwise blocked to the public.
> They claimed to believe that it was blocked because of US sanctions and denied that the government blocked any websites
The government and their supporters are bad liers. By bad, I mean they don't even try to make it convincing. The president told a foreign journalist that covering is optional in Iran. That is while their "morality police" has killed a woman and the whole country is burning in riots. This is while that same journalist is wearing scarf to be allowed to talk to the president, in US!