IRAN'S FAILURE IN CYBERSPACE FILTRATION, HARASSMENT

Iran, 19 August 2017-- A senior government affiliated cleric, close to the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, admitted the regime's defeat in preventing the use of cyberspace and social media by young Iranians, saying that the solution to the cyberspace crisis for the regime is not through filtering.The cleric who was speaking in Mashhad on 17 August 2017, added: “We have repeatedly referred to the authorities and talked about it,

and we believe that the solution to the problems of cyberspace is not filtering, and we must make the young people not get infected with cyberspace and that necessary attention and surveillance should be done.”

 Nasser Makarem Shirazi, while admitting this defeat, had previously demanded filtering and preventing the expansion of cyberspaceon 26 May 2016, saying, “Of major issues at universities, preventing the expansion of unhealthy cyberspace and social media is very important, as virtual spaces make 90 percent of the world's cyberspace swampy and morass, and we should think about a plan for that.”

This government cleric has repeatedly shown frenzied reactions to the increasing number of young people turning to cyberspace.

The followings are some of his reactions in this regard:

“We have to admit that there is a significant risk to ambush us, (26 may 2016).”

“Our dear young people... pay attention, pay close attention” that “the Internet and cyberspace and information tools... are at the disposal of the enemies; these are the tools for the enemy's cultural dominance, (3 June 2016).”

'Social networks are now becoming swampy and morass, and the enemy wants to take away the energy of the youths, 29 June 2016).”

“I cried yesterday to hear cybercrime reports... and the anti-cultural invasion by the enemy, (Raja News website, 23 August 2016).”

Cyberspace has become one of the main concerns of the Iranian regime. This concern is such that, according to Brig. General Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar, head of the Basij Organization, “virtual space is the battlefield” and the system should not approach this issue with “wishful thinking.”

According to the state-run ISNA news agency on 11 August 2017, the Basij commander expressed concern over the “enemy conquering the regime’s trenches” in the cyberspace and called on the regime’s forces to “return to the regime’s deserted trenches to confront the enemy.”

Iran: Foreign diplomats tour of Evin prison a 'crude PR stunt'

In Iran and around the world, Evin prison is symbolic of Iran’s rampant political repression

Amnesty International, 13 July 2017--  Last week the Iranian authorities arranged a rare visit to one of the country’s most infamous prisons for representatives of up to 45 foreign diplomatic missions from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.

The authorities made no secret of the fact that the tour of Evin Prison in Tehran was designed to counter negative Human rights reports about the prison, and showcase the “excellent facilities” on offer which include an in-house beauty salon, gym, library and restaurant.

In the days that followed, state media outlets were flooded with news stories praising conditions at the prison including congratulatory comments from Indian, Indonesian, Portuguese and South Korean delegates.

In reality, this rosy picture could not be further from the truth.
Research by Amnesty International and other Human rights organizations over the years points to inhumane and unsanitary conditions at Evin Prison. Chronic overcrowding, severely limited hot water, poor ventilation, and infestations of cockroaches and mice, particularly near kitchen areas, are among the most common complaints.

Research by Amnesty International and other Human rights organizations over the years points to inhumane and unsanitary conditions at Evin Prison.

 Raha Bahreini

Prisoners have described being forced to sleep on the floor, including during cold winter months due to a shortage of beds and being fed “barely edible” meals.  Prisoners who are lucky enough to afford to do so can purchase food at their own expense from the prison shop.

Evin Prison is a vast complex that consists of multiple buildings, generally up to three floors high with two sections on each floor. Conditions across the prison sections vary greatly.

The much raved about beauty salon, gym, library and restaurant are only accessible to prisoners held in building 7.

Unsurprisingly many areas of the prison remained off limits to the foreign delegates. They were only granted access to a handful of sections in buildings 4 and 7, mostly housing wealthier prisoners convicted of financial crimes. In these areas, prisoners have used their own funds to boost conditions, buying carpets, curtains, televisions, air conditioning units, kitchenware and other furnishings.

Amnesty International learned that ahead of the visit the authorities transferred some prisoners from these sections to other areas in order to alleviate overcrowding and painted walls. They also warned prisoners against approaching the diplomats and expressing any criticism.
In Iran and around the world, Evin prison is symbolic of Iran’s rampant political repression. It has held hundreds of peaceful activists, journalists, intellectuals and Human rights lawyers throughout its disgraceful history.

Yet foreign delegates were not allowed to visit areas of the prison that hold dozens of prisoners of conscience including Human rights activists. These include building 350, which holds prominent Human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani and severely ill Human rights defender Arash Sadeghi; building 8, which holds Human rights defender Omid Alishenas,and the women prisoners’ wing which holds Human rights defenders Narges Mohammadi, Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee and Atena Daemi.

The delegation was also barred from accessing areas controlled by the Ministry of Intelligence and Revolutionary Guards, where detainees are routinely subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.

They were also unable to meet dual nationals held in the prison on spurious charges.

 

Crude game of deception

The highly publicized visit to Evin prison was clearly a PR stunt orchestrated by the Iranian authorities to cover up the dark truth about the prison.
Speaking after the visit, Kazem Gharibabadi of Iran’s High Council of Human rights made the ludicrous claim that prisoners in Iran enjoy “perfect access to medical care”. This stands in stark contrast to the findings of an Amnesty International report, which highlighted how political prisoners are deliberately denied access to adequate medical care as further punishment.
He also claimed that the conditions at Evin are typical of the high standards of prisons across the country.
The highly publicized visit to Evin prison was clearly a PR stunt orchestrated by the Iranian authorities to cover up the dark truth about the prison
Raha Bahreini

Such false claims by the Iranian authorities are an affront to the hundreds of prisoners over the years who have suffered behind bars at Evin prison.
The foreign delegates who took part in this tour may not have known in advance that they would be getting such a limited, distorted view of conditions in this notorious prison. But it should be very clear to them now that they are
being used by Iranian authorities to validate their crude propaganda. They must speak out against torture and other ill-treatment of prisoners in Iran and the arbitrary detention of peaceful critics and Human rights defenders and demand that the authorities open Evin and other prisons to independent monitors.
If the Iranian authorities are truly interested in improving their reputation, they must urgently address overcrowding, and ensure access to adequate food, water, medical care, hygiene and bedding for all prisoners. They should also end the use of torture and other ill-treatment, treat detainees with dignity and humanity, release unjustly imprisoned peaceful DISSIDENTS, and allow international monitors, including the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human rights in Iran, to conduct independent, unannounced inspections of Evin and other prisons in line with international standards.
Only through such steps and can Iran truly establish confidence in the country’s prison system.

Among the states who took part in the tour are:

Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican

Iran ripe for regime change

BY Ivan Sascha Sheehan

 July 14, 2017, --  The Iran nuclear agreement — officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — has been in effect for a year and a half, during which time the world has been able to assess the impact of its formal implementation. But it has now had two full years to consider the effects of its negotiation, which concluded on July 14, 2015.
The negotiations themselves were promoted by then-U.S. President Barack Obama and his surrogates as a means of creating a new diplomatic status quo between Iran and the West. It was hoped that following the 2013 election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani , Tehran would moderate its behavior by demonstrating cooperation with former adversaries.
But internal moderation of the Iranian regime has proven elusive, and Tehran has shown no aptitude to reform from within.
The result? Western powers have learned the same lesson from the Rouhani administration that they learned from Mohammad Khatami, Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, and other Iranian officials similarly labeled as reformers worthy of outreach. Moderation is a mirage Tehran uses to seduce their prey.
Executions have skyrocketed under Rouhani's watch, with his administration overseeing an alarming 3,000 hangings during its first four-year term. Analysts expect the human rights violations to continue as the president commences a second term next month.
Rouhani's tenure is also distinguished by a dangerous continuation of ballistic missile research, development and testing (including evidence of cooperation with North Korea) and a repressive crackdown by the country’s security forces on activists, artists, academics, journalists and anyone accused of having ties to the West. These unfortunate trends have shown no signs of abatement on the second anniversary of the landmark agreement that granted far-reaching concessions in return for constructive engagement.
Neither has Tehran’s regional behavior demonstrated signs of improvement with the regime serving as a driving force behind sectarian conflict and an active participant in the Syrian and Yemeni civil wars.
As Western powers commemorate the two-year anniversary of the nuclear negotiations, a comprehensive Iran policy that addresses the joint plan’s shortcomings is needed. The U.S. must take the lead — as it did when nuclear negotiations began — but this time it must lead the world in confronting Iran over the nature of its repressive, fundamentalist regime by building a global coalition that supports regime change from within.
To its credit, the Trump administration has taken steps in this direction by increasing sanctions on the country’s ballistic missile program and pursuing the blacklisting of Iran’s hardline paramilitary organization, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. But the Trump administration's willingness to confront Tehran would benefit from clear, overarching policy that more fully embraces the regime’s collapse and replacement.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s strong statement before the House Foreign Affairs Committee was a first step in this direction: “Our policy towards Iran is to push back on (its regional) hegemony, contain their ability to develop, obviously, nuclear weapons and to work towards support of those elements inside of Iran that would lead to a peaceful transition of that government.”
Now Tillerson's rhetoric needs to be backed with clear statements by U.S. officials — including the President himself — that the false narrative of internal moderation has expired and the aspirations of the Iranian people for regime change are within reach.
It is widely believed that the sanctions and diplomatic pressure employed by the White House and Congress are intended to serve the goal of regime change. If so, this needs to be made clear so that interested parties can coordinate their strategies and address questions about the availability of the “elements inside of Iran” that Tillerson referred to.
The regime’s lobby in Washington would have U.S. officials believe no such elements exist, at least none with adequate organization and resources to oust the clerical regime and replace it with a democratic system of government. Such mischaracterizations are as inaccurate as they are well funded.
The accusations were addressed earlier this month when Tehran’s parliament in exile, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, along with the main Iranian opposition movement, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, held its annual international gathering for democratic change in Paris. The gathering included tens of thousands of Iranian expatriates and hundreds of politicians and foreign policy experts from around the world who embraced regime change by the Iranian resistance.
In her speech at the event, NCRI President Maryam Rajavi praised the international community for rejecting the failed strategy of “appeasement” that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action represents and affirmed her movement’s commitment to the replacement of Iran's religious dictatorship, characterizing it as an absolute imperative and “the ultimate solution to the crises in the region.”
Rajavi noted what Iran scholars have long known: 1) Tehran’s vulnerability, domestic unpopularity and international isolation puts its overthrow within reach; 2) this can be achieved by the organized, democratic resistance that exists in the country and is led on the world stage by the NCRI.NCRI
The White House can mark the second anniversary of the negotiations that resulted in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action by turning the page on the failed Obama policy of capitulation in the interest of concessions and supporting the aspirations of the Iranian people for democratic change. By working with the Iranian opposition to realize regime change in Tehran, U.S. officials send a signal that they are preparing for the regime’s collapse and democratic transition and put Iran on notice that a new Iran policy has been embraced.
Sheehan is director of the graduate programs in Global Affairs & Human Security and Negotiations & Conflict Management in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Baltimore. Follow him on Twitter @ProfSheehan.

North Korea may have more nuclear bomb material than thought: U.S. think tank

A satellite image of the radiochemical laboratory at the Yongbyon nuclear plant in North Korea by Airbus Defense & Space and 38 North released on July 14, 2017

WASHINGTON (Reuters), July 14, 2017-- Thermal images of North Korea's main nuclear site show Pyongyang may have reprocessed more plutonium than previously thought that can be used to enlarge its nuclear weapons stockpile, a U.S. think tank said on Friday.

The analysis by 38 North, a Washington-based North Korean monitoring project, was based on satellite images of the radiochemical laboratory at the Yongbyon nuclear plant from September until the end of June, amid rising international concerns over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.

The think tank said images of the uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon could also indicate operation of centrifuges that could be used to increase North Korea’s stock of enriched uranium, its other source of bomb fuel.

There were signs too of at least short-term activity at North Korea’s Experimental Light Water Reactor that could be cause for concern, 38 North said.

The images of the radiochemical laboratory showed there had been at least two reprocessing cycles not previously known aimed at producing 'an undetermined amount of plutonium that can further increase North Korea’s nuclear weapons stockpile,' something that would worry U.S. officials who see Pyongyang as one of the world's top security threats.

It was unclear if the thermal activity detected at the uranium plant was the result of centrifuge operations or maintenance.

 

 A thermal image of the radiochemical laboratory at the Yongbyon nuclear plant in North Korea is seen which 38 North says was taken in June 2017 and released on July 14, 2017. Courtesy Thermal data available from the US Geological Survey/38 North/Handout via REUTERS

It said the thermal patterns at the plant's isotope/tritium production facility suggested it was not operational and was therefore not producing tritium, an essential isotope used in boosted yield and hydrogen weapons.

North Korea manufactures atomic bombs using uranium and plutonium and has tested five nuclear bombs. Officials and experts say it could test a sixth at any time, despite U.S.-led international efforts to curb its program.

Pyongyang said its penultimate test in January 2016 was of a hydrogen bomb, something experts have treated with skepticism.

North Korea has been working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States and last week tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile, which experts said could hit all of Alaska and parts of the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

Frustrated that China, North Korea's main trading partner, has not done more to rein in Pyongyang, the Trump administration could impose new sanctions on small Chinese banks and other companies doing business with Pyongyang within weeks, two senior U.S. officials told Reuters this week.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has been seeking to overcome resistance from China and Russia to a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing stiffer international sanctions on Pyongyang.

Experts at 38 North estimated in April that North Korea could have as many as 20 nuclear bombs and could produce one more each month.

FORMER US AMBASSADOR: IRAN MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO GET AWAY WITH NON-COMPLIANCE WITH NUCLEAR DEAL

The Iranian people and their organized resistance (NCRI/MEK) are now more than ready to take the necessary steps to dethrone the mullahs and establish a democratic state.

The Trump administration must stop giving Iran a pass on its non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, according to a former undersecretary of state for arms control and international security affairs.John R. Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, wrote an op-ed for The Hill in which he questioned the State Department’s rumoured decision to report that Iran is compliant with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),

signed by the UN Security Council’s five permanent members and Germany in 2015, despite clear evidence to the contrary.

He wrote: “If true, it will be the administration’s second unforced error regarding the JCPOA.”

The violations committed by Iran are staggering and of public knowledge so it is hard to comprehend why an administration that reportedly wanted to be tough on the Iranian would let it slide twice in a row on this easily enforceable law.

Some violations include: