By Reuters <BR>June 25, 2001, 11:10 a.m. PT<BR> <BR>TEHRAN, Iran--Iran's state telecommunications monopoly has ordered tough new restrictions on online use, barring access to the Web for people under 18 and requiring Internet service providers to block some sites, newspapers said. <P>Regulations issued by Iran Telecommunications order ISPs to filter all materials presumed immoral or contrary to state security, including the Web sites of opposition groups, the Hambastegi newspaper said Sunday. <P>The new rules say ISPs that do not strictly comply risk losing their licenses and facing court action. <P>The heads of several ISP companies contacted by Reuters said they had not received official notification of the new bylaw and had only seen the newspaper reports. Telecommunications officials were not immediately available for comment. <P>Police closed down more than 400 Internet cafes in Tehran last month, demanding owners obtain licenses to stay in business. There are estimated to be around 1,500 Internet cafes in the capital, with more in other major cities. The cafes are popular with the overwhelmingly youthful population of the Islamic Republic, where the state media are tightly controlled by conservatives.