The story: French authorities have arrested the Russian-born founder of Telegram amid a probe into a slew of allegations against the tech entrepreneur. Pavel Durov, who also holds Emirati and French citizenship, is mainly accused of failing to act against the alleged criminal use of the popular smartphone app.

Hardline media in Iran have criticized France over the detention and accused the west at large of failing to uphold freedom of speech. However, other Iranians have pointed out the irony in such criticism given that conservatives...