Iran Minister Says 'Impossible' to Block Information by Banning Apps

Iran's telecoms minister said Tuesday it was "impossible to block citizen's access to information", a day after the conservative-dominated judiciary banned the hugely popular Telegram messaging app.

Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi's comments on Twitter highlighted differences of opinion between the government of reformist President Hassan Rouhani and ultra-conservatives who control the judiciary and security services.

"Even if we ban the use of software, other software will be found and information will start to circulate freely again," Jahromi wrote. "Technology is not intrinsically guilty, corrupt, or deviant," he added. 

"It is human beings who misuse it to promote crime and corruption in the virtual world, just as they do in real life."

A Tehran judge on Monday ordered the blocking of Telegram, the judiciary's Mizan Online news agency said, following accusations that the app has allowed armed opposition groups to fuel unrest.

The move follows a presidential directive banning all government workers from using foreign messenger apps to communicate.

Built by Russian tech guru Pavel Durov, Telegram is the most popular social network in Iran with some 40 million users—roughly half the population.

During a wave of protests that hit dozens of Iranian cities early this year, authorities temporarily banned the app, saying it enabled foreign-based "counter-revolutionary" groups to stir tensions.

Since then, authorities have sought to develop Iranian social media networks and limit reliance on foreign-based platforms, which Tehran accuses of hosting sites hostile to the Islamic Republic.

The ban adds Telegram to the list of social networks blocked in the Islamic Republic but accessible via virtual private network (VPN) software which can circumvent internet blackouts—something the judiciary wants to prevent in the case of the messaging app.

Monday's announcement was followed by rumors Jahromi had resigned, but the semi-official ISNA news agency denied that.

"On the question of filtering (social networks), we said and repeated that this is not the only solution," it cited him as saying. "The competent authorities heard our arguments and made their decision."

Photo Credit: IRNA

Iran Bans Use of Popular Telegram Messaging App

Iran's judiciary on Monday banned the hugely popular Telegram messaging app, which the authorities have accused of allowing armed opposition groups to fuel unrest. 

A judge in Tehran gave "the order to interrupt Telegram," the judiciary's Mizan Online news agency said.

The move comes on the heels of a recent presidential directive banning all government workers from using foreign messenger apps to communicate.

Telegram, built by Russian tech guru Pavel Durov, is the most popular social network in Iran with some 40 million users—roughly half the population.

During a wave of protests that hit dozens of Iranian cities over at the start of the year, authorities temporarily banned Telegram, saying the service enabled foreign-based "counter-revolutionary" groups to stir tensions. 

Since then, authorities have sought to develop Iranian social media networks and limit the reliance on foreign-based platforms, which Tehran accuses of hosting sites deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic. 

Several Iranian platforms offering services similar to Telegram have emerged in recent months, like the Soroush network, which already claims to have five million subscribers. 

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani both announced in mid-April they would stop using Telegram.

The last message on Khamenei's Telegram channel directed users to accounts on Iranian messaging services, including Soroush and Gap. 

The tribunal in Tehran issued its order Monday after receiving complaints against Telegram, accusing it of "inciting rebellion" and allowing "terrorist groups" to threaten national security, Mizan Online reported.

All internet providers and phone operators now have "a duty to completely block access to Telegram," the news agency said, citing the judge's decision

Anyone in breach of the order "will be considered in violation with the judicial order and prosecuted", the news agency said. AFP journalists said Telegram was still working by Monday evening.

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China Warns US Against Causing 'Damage' to Trade in Huawei Probe

China warned the United States on Thursday against harming trade after a report that US authorities had opened an investigation into suspected violations of Iran sanctions by China's Huawei Technologies.

A US Justice Department probe would come on the back of subpoenas issued to the company by the US Commerce and Treasury Departments over sanctions-related issues, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Huawei—one of the world's largest telecommunications equipment and services providers—has been under tough scrutiny in the United States, where government national security officials say that its alleged close links to the Chinese government make it a security risk.

Its US business has been tightly constrained by worries it could undermine US competitors and that its cellphones and networking equipment, used widely in other countries, could provide Beijing with avenues for espionage.

The Journal report gave no details about the investigation. The New York Times has reported that the company has been subpoenaed by the Commerce and Treasury Departments over alleged violations of Iran and North Korea sanctions.

Huawei would not comment on the Journal report. "Huawei complies with all applicable laws and regulations where it operates, including the applicable export control and sanction laws and regulations of the UN, US and EU," spokesman Charles Zinkowski said in a statement.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she had seen the report.

"We hope that the US doesn't take any further steps to damage confidence in the American business environment," Hua said at a regular press briefing.

Hua added that China hopes "the US doesn't do things that damage its domestic economy and the normal, transparent, mutually beneficial development of international trade."

Signaling the rising unease in the United States towards Huawei and fellow Chinese telecoms group ZTE Corp, last month the Federal Communications Commission proposed a new rule that would restrict small telecoms carriers from purchasing "equipment or services from companies that pose a national security threat."

Major US telecoms companies have already steered clear of the two Chinese firms, sometimes on the strong suggestions of US officials.

The cases come as the United States and China are gearing up for a potential trade war, with the high-tech sector among the concerns for both sides.

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Iran's Khamenei Quits Telegram

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced Wednesday that he would no longer use the hugely popular messaging app Telegram, shifting instead to domestic services.

President Hassan Rouhani quickly followed suit, announcing that he too was giving up Telegram shortly after issuing a directive banning the government and administration workers from using foreign messenger apps to communicate, according to the official IRNA news agency.

The announcements came as rumours continued that Iran would soon block Telegram, built by Russian tech guru Pavel Durov and the most popular social media service in the country with some 40 million users—roughly half the population.

"In line with safeguarding national interests and removing the monopoly of the Telegram messaging network, the website for the preservation and publication of the works of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei will stop its activities in this network from this moment," said the last message on Khamenei's Telegram channel.

It directed users to accounts on Iranian messaging services, including Soroush and Gap, which the authorities are trying to promote. Rouhani's account said the president's messages would continue through the "messaging applications of our country".

First Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri and foreign ministry spokesperson Bahram Ghassemi also closed their Telegram accounts on Wednesday, IRNA reported.

Last week, Khamenei issued a statement saying any breaches of online privacy were "haram," meaning they were religiously forbidden.

This was interpreted as seeking to encourage the use of domestic apps, which many Iranians fear will be monitored by intelligence services. 

Khamenei's channel said his move away from Telegram was an initial step towards stopping its use by all "official bodies". 

On Sunday, the ministry of education banned the use of foreign social media networks in schools. 

During a wave of protests that hit dozens of Iranian cities in December and January, Iranian authorities temporarily banned Telegram, accusing it of allowing foreign-based "counter-revolutionary" groups to fuel unrest. 

But Rouhani's government has pushed back against efforts to block Telegram and other popular services such as Instagram, saying thousands of businesses use the service and access to the outside world should not be curtailed. 

On Tuesday conservative lawmaker Abolfazl Abutorabi said "all foreign messaging services" could be banned on April 21, with Telegram first to go. 

Soroush claims to have some 5 million users, while Gap has more than 1.3 million. There was no word on whether Khamenei's office would stop using his five Twitter feeds in different languages, which exist despite the service being blocked for ordinary Iranians. 

Facebook and Twitter are both blocked in Iran, although they are easily accessible using virtual private network (VPN) software.

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China's ZTE Halts Share Trading Following Ban for Exports to Iran, North Korea

Chinese telecom giant ZTE halted trading of its shares in Hong Kong and Shenzhen Tuesday following a US ban on its purchase of sensitive technology, which drew a pledge by China to "safeguard" its companies if necessary.

Washington said ZTE had failed to follow through on pledges to punish staff responsible for illegal exports to Iran and North Korea.

But China's commerce ministry said the firm had created tens of thousands of American jobs.

The chairman of the Shenzhen-based firm, Yin Yimin, said ZTE had established a crisis team and was ready to "go to all lengths to face the crisis head-on."

"We are in a complicated international situation," Yin said in an open letter circulated online, warning that the company faces "twists and turns" abroad.

Following an investigation into the illegal sale of goods to Iran and North Korea, ZTE pleaded guilty in March 2017 to unlawful exports and was hit with USD 1.2 billion in fines, the largest criminal penalty in US history in an export control case.

But US Commerce Department investigators said it made additional false statements multiple times about having taken action against the employees responsible, when it had not.

In a statement on its website, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said "China has always asked Chinese enterprises to abide by the host country's laws and policies and operate legally and properly in the process of overseas operation."

"ZTE has launched extensive trade and investment cooperation with hundreds of American businesses, and contributing tens of thousands of jobs to the United States," it added, saying that it was "ready to take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises."

The five-year US government investigation into ZTE's actions was first revealed in March 2016.

From January 2010 to March 2016, the company shipped $32 million of US cellular network equipment to Iran, and made 283 shipments of cellphones to North Korea, with the full knowledge of the highest levels of management, officials said.

ZTE used third-party companies to hide the export of US components to the sanctioned countries, and then hid the information by "sanitizing databases" with information on the sales. 

The firm deleted emails of employees involved in the scrubbing of records, and required employees with information about the illegal exports to sign non-disclosure agreements.

It also covered up the fact that ZTE paid full bonuses to employees who had engaged in illegal conduct, and failed to issue letters of reprimand.

Britain's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) also advised British telecommunication companies about the "potential risks" of using ZTE equipment.

"NCSC assess that the national security risks arising from the use of ZTE equipment or services within the context of the existing UK telecommunications infrastructure cannot be mitigated," said Ian Levy, its technical director, in a statement.

But a NCSC spokesman told AFP that the advice was not compulsory and that, legally speaking, British operators still have the right to use such equipment.

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