Science and Technology

Iranwire – Mahmoud Nabavian, deputy chairman of the Article 90 Parliamentary Committee, said that Iran has lost control of the Internet within the country and that it is important for Iranian authorities to reassert its control with the help of the Chinese. In an interview published in Mehr News Agency on April 11, Nabavian, referring to the details of the …

CHRI – At the end of every year in Iran, the Labor Ministry sets the national minimum wage for the following year, determining a base income for more than 40 million Iranian workers. For the Persian year 1400, starting March 20, 2021 in the Christian calendar, Labor Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari announced there would only be a 39 percent increase—far less than the inflation rate …

Al-Monitor – Following Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s speech on the important issues facing the country in the upcoming year, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced plans to form groups to make sure these issues are prioritized. In an open letter to Khamenei following the start of the Iranian new year on March 20, Hossein Salami announced the formation of the Headquarters for …

Iranwire – Twenty years ago, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic infamously called parts of the Iranian press a “base for the enemy”. Days later, mass bans and wide-ranging closures were imposed on Iranian newspapers, leading in turn to an exodus of journalists. Now Ayatollah Khamenei has described the internet in the same terms, once again raising the spectre …

newsweek.com – The Iranian regime is shutting down the internet yet again this month—this time in response to the desperate protests in the Baluchistan and Sistan provinces. Tehran is methodically implementing a repressive playbook, imported at great expense from Beijing: first, label protesters as criminals; second, shut down the internet to prevent information from getting in or out; third, detain, …

Al-Monitor – Iran will soon “cold test” its redesigned Arak nuclear reactor before its full commissioning later this year, a spokesperson for the country’s nuclear agency said. One of the requirements of the landmark nuclear deal struck between world powers in 2015 was that Iran dismantle its Arak heavy water reactor. The original reactor, located southwest of the capital, Tehran, …

CHRI – An Interview with Internet Freedom and Security Expert Amir Rashidi Key Points: Iranians are largely unable to use international communications tools and services because companies won’t sell their products to them or allow them to use their free services due to fears of violating U.S. sanctions.This undermines the right to access information and digital security because it means …

gatestoneinstitute.org – China, pursuant to [its 14th Five-Year Plan]… will increase spending 7% per year to achieve “major breakthroughs” in areas of “frontier technology.” Specifically, the country, will devote resources to artificial intelligence; quantum information; semiconductors; brain science; genomics and biotech; clinical medicine and health; and deep space, deep sea, and deep earth. In addition to theft, [China’s leaders] adopted a …

Amnesty – The near total Internet shutdowns began as protests got underway on Tuesday, 23 February 2021 after reports and videos surfaced indicating that the Islamic Republic Revolutionary Guards Corps had opened fire with live ammunition at a group of unarmed civilian fuel porters near the border city of Saravan in Sistan and Baluchistan province, killing at least 10 people …

Iranwire – The Iranian Presidential Center for StrategicStudies, a thinktank attached to President Rouhani’s office, has published a detailed report stressing the necessity for the regime to use cryptocurrencies to generate extra income. Extracting cryptocurrencies, the report states, could provide economic benefits to several different sectors of the country’s economy. It claims that if the government intervenes seriously it could generate US$2 million a day and …