Iran has banned Pokemon Go

Pokémon Go is fast taking over the world - but Iran is putting up a fight.

The authoritarian Asian nation has banned the wildly popular smartphone app, The Guardian reports, citing the local Isna news agency.

"Any game that wants to operate nationwide in Iran needs to obtain permission from the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance, and the Pokémon Go app has not yet requested such a permission," the head of Iran's supreme council of virtual space, Abolhasan Firouzabadi, reportedly said.

The authorities may now move to block the game in inside Iran. The country already censors its citizens' internet access, blocking some foreign social networks, news outlets, and tens of thousands of other other sites.

Freedom House rates Iran's internet as "not free," giving it a score for internet freedom of 87, where 100 is worst.

Iranians wanting to get their pokémon fix may now have to turn to proxies and virtual private networks - much like they do for other censored services.