"The aim of this report is not to question the value of supporting Internet freedom in closed societies such as Iran. Rather, the intent is to provide a picture of how difficult it is to achieve progress in such countries. In times of tightening budgets for media development work, it is worth considering where best to place one’s bets. While trying to improve access to the Internet for Iranians is a worthy goal in terms of foreign policy and human rights, it is less clear whether such efforts have had much immediate impact in improving Iran’s media landscape, or in convincing the senior leadership that Internet freedom is indeed a worthy pursuit. Looking forward, more work needs to be done to understand what kind of aid policies and approaches are most effective in societies such as Iran. Many donors would like to support the groups that are struggling to maintain open Internet access, and the immediate goal of helping Internet activists preserve some modicum of Internet freedom is clearly a worthy endeavor. The longer term goal will likely require not only preserving as many freedoms as possible now, but also a broader, more integrated program of support to the media sector that includes a combination of technical assistance and engagement with both civil society and the intelligentsia. Until such a wide engagement is possible, the outlook for freedom in Iran will likely remain gloomy." (Conclusion)