Science and Technology

RFL/RE – The United States has called on social-media giants Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to suspend accounts linked to Iranian government leaders until Internet coverage is restored in that country.“It is a deeply hypocritical regime,” Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, told Bloomberg News in an interview posted on the official State Department Twitter account.“It shuts down the Internet …

Radiofarda – Friday Prayer Imams in Tehran and Mashhad have called on the government not to restore internet service to citizens in Iran that have been blocked to conceal the violent suppression of anti-government protest during this week. Most Friday Prayer Imams in Iranian cities mildly criticized President Hassan Rouhani for “shocking the people” by increasing the price of gasoline …

VOA – Iran has extended a major shutdown of internet access into a seventh day to suppress domestic opposition to the government, prompting the United States to sanction the Iranian official overseeing the outage. NetBlocks.org✔@netblocks The #Iran internet shutdown is now in its 144th hour, keeping friends and family out of touch and limiting the basic rights of IraniansSubscribe to …

RFL/RE — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is calling on Iranians to send the United States videos, photos, and other information “documenting the regime’s crackdown” on protesters, as authorities in Iran are slowly easing up on blocking access to the Internet.“The U.S. will expose and sanction the abuses,” Pompeo wrote in a tweet published late on November 21 in both English and Persian,s Iran’s …

RFL/RE – U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Tehran of disconnecting Iranians from Internet access to cover up dozens of killings over the past week amid protests that erupted over fuel-price hikes.“Iran has become so unstable that the regime has shut down their entire Internet System…thinking the world will not find out the death and tragedy that the Iranian Regime …

CHRI – App Would Expose Users to State Surveillance, Various Security Risks Recent news that the Iranian government is developing a virtual private network (VPN) app that would grant less censored internet access to select groups of users has raised concerns that the state is implementing a discriminatory system that would restrict the right of access to information to be determined by a …

Al-Monitor – After four days of a near complete internet blackout, Iranian authorities have begun to restore internet connectivity to the country. According to Fars News Agency, the resumption of internet access is being done “gradually” and “province by province.” According to the Fars report, Hormozgan, Arak, Kermanshah, Mashhad, Qom, Tabriz, Hamedan, Bushehr and parts of Tehran are being reconnected. Public acces to the internet was …

RFL/RE – Iranian authorities have begun restoring Internet access in Tehran and a number of provinces, reports say, as the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said calm had returned after days of unrest over fuel-price hikes.In a statement on November 21, the IRGC praised the armed forces for taking “timely” action against the “rioters,” adding that the arrest of their …

RFL/RE – The UN’s nuclear watchdog has asked Iran for details on why traces of uranium were found at an undeclared site after Iranian officials failed to provided information about the discovery. The issue has added to tensions over Iran’s moves to breach a landmark 2015 deal aimed at curbing its nuclear activities. “It is essential that Iran works with …

wired.com – The recent shift away from IT networks raises the possibility that Iran’s APT33 is exploring physically disruptive cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. As Iranian hackers target industrial control systems, experts worry that they may have designs on utilities, refineries, and manufacturing hubs.PHOTOGRAPH: AARON M. SPRECHER/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES Iranian hackers have carried out some of the most disruptive acts of digital …