Iran said it will start easing some of the world's tightest internet restrictions by lifting its ban on WhatsApp and Google Play -- a sign that authorities want to placate domestic opponents as the Islamic Republic faces major economic and foreign-policy challenges.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace approved the lifting of blocks on "certain widely used foreign platforms" according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, which named WhatsApp and Google Play as the first two applications to be unblocked.