True, the Streisand effect in action. But even if they can accomplish their goal of keeping people from English language information there's plenty of people that know English already and will spread what they learn. "Information wants to be free," is a truism.

I don't support this (more schools in every country should teach foreign languages in primary school), but AIUI from the article learning English is not now forbidden for young people in Iran, it's only now blocked in primary schools, where it didn't happen much anyway:

    The teaching of English usually starts in middle school
    in Iran, at the ages of 12 to 14, but some primary 
    schools below that age also have English classes.