TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian newspaper says 11 people have been arrested in the south after allegedly sending text messages deemed insulting to the founder of the Islamic Republic, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Haft-e-Sobh daily on Monday quoted Col. Ismaeil Mohebipour of the Revolutionary Guard, as saying the arrests were made after social networking applications on mobile phones — such as WhatsApp, Viber, Line and Tango — were monitored.