Science and Technology

Al-Monitor – A number of lawmakers in Iran’s conservative parliament are advancing an impeachment bid against the country’s health minister, marking the first such attempt against the government of hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi. During an open meeting Jan. 11, the impeachment motion’s architect, Kamal Hosseinpour, criticized the health minister’s personal preference in COVID-19 vaccination, and his decision to take an imported …

Iranwire – In Iran, internet speeds have dropped dramatically over the past month, while access to Virtual Proxy Networks (VPNs) and open social networks including Twitter and Telegram has become more difficult –  prompting criticism and protest campaigns, shared extensively on social media. It follows alarm over the “User Protection Bill”, due to be tabled before Iranian parliament in March 2022. Proponents of the bill argue …

VOA – Iran’s space launch Thursday failed to put its three payloads into orbit after the rocket was unable to reach the required speed, a defense ministry spokesman said in remarks carried on state television Friday. The attempted launch, which came as indirect U.S.-Iran talks take place in Austria to try to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal, drew criticism from …

VOA – France on Friday condemned Iran’s satellite rocket launch and said it was “all the more regrettable” as nuclear talks with world powers were making progress, echoing concerns expressed by the United States and Germany. Iran said Thursday it had used a satellite launch rocket to send three research devices into space, as indirect U.S.-Iran talks take place in …

RFL/RE – The United States voiced concern on December 30 over Iran’s new space launch, saying such activities use technology that can help further its ballistic-missile program. “The United States remains concerned with Iran’s development of space launch vehicles, which pose a significant proliferation concern,” a State Department spokesperson said after Iran announced it had launched a rocket carrying three …

RFL/RE – Iran has launched a rocket carrying three satellites, Iranian state television reported on December 30. It was unclear exactly when the reported launch took place, what kind of launcher was used, or whether any objects had successfully entered Earth’s orbit. Independent satellite images of Iran taken earlier this month seemed to show that a launch was imminent, AP …

Iranwire – In Iran a project entitled “Smart Covid Management” project is under way, purporting to lay the foundations for a post-pandemic return to normal life. Since February 2020, when the coronavirus outbreak in Iran was confirmed, many such initiatives have been launched in a bid to control the pandemic (quite often prefaced with the word “smart”), including night-time curfews and the …

WSJ- There’s more to Iran’s high-tech arsenal than prospective nuclear weapons. The regime in Tehran also uses social media, including Twitter , to divide, defame, disable and demoralize its domestic opponents. Such warfare is often difficult to track, and it is hindering the struggle for freedom. Iran is seeing a rise in mass protests and other acts of civil disobedience, …

Iranwire – On Friday, November 26, blood flowed on the dry bed of the Zayanderud river. Two weeks after a fresh round of protests got under way in Isfahan, officers from the police’s Special Forces Unit tore into the crowd on motorbikes, attacking farmers and civilians with batons and birdshot while tear gas hung in the air. So far scant information is …

Iranwire – Recently US pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced it had succeeded in developing an anti-viral Covid-19 pill that reduced the risk of hospitalization or death from the disese by 89 percent. The company has applied to the American Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization. Pfizer also signed a licensing agreement with Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), a United Nations-backed public health …