Iranian authorities have ousted MTN Irancell's CEO Alireza Rafiei after he reportedly delayed the network's shutdown amid a nationwide communications blackout earlier this month.

As reported by Bloomberg, Rafiei took around two hours to block phone calls after being ordered to shut down the carrier's mobile network by the government.

Bloomberg reports that this led Irancell’s state-backed majority shareholders, who have direct ties to the country’s security forces, to replace Rafiei with military veteran Mohammad Hossein Soleimanian.

It comes as Iran's government continues to block Internet services across the country.

The country's nationwide Internet blackout is currently in its 18th day, notes NetBlocks, as the country's rulers push to suppress increasing anti-regime demonstrations. Internet services went down on January 9, but have yet to return.

It follows widespread protests across the country, aimed at the Islamic Republic government due to economic conditions, with the cost of living spiraling out of control and inflation at a record high, while there's also growing resentment towards the current regime in Iran. It's the largest uprising in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

MTN Group holds a 49 percent stake in MTN Irancell, while the remaining 51 percent is owned by state-backed shareholders.

Irancell is the biggest telco in the country with around 42 percent market share and more than 70 million active SIMs.

The newswire reports that the move has angered South African company MTN Group, which feels blindsided and has disputed the decision with the board.

MTN, which has been operating in Iran since 2006, is considering its future in the market, according to South African publication Sunday World.

The telco has pushed for an exit from the market since 2020, however, US sanctions have made this a difficult process. MTN said last year that it hasn't extracted capital or dividends from Iran since US sanctions were reimposed in 2018.