Lawmaker Says Iran's Government Disrupting Internet For Political Ends

Usually when Kayhan Daily attacks an individual or entity it signals a policy or attitude by hardliners. The paper is linked to and supported by the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Its front-page story on Wednesday, August 4, accusing the ‘reformists’ who are loyal to the Islamic Republic, can be a signal of an impending campaign by hardliner followers of Khamenei.

The Kayhan has gone farther, charging that reformist media outlets publish lies and censor positive news daily to instil despair in society and suggest that Iran is entangled in a deadlock and that there is a wide rift between the nation and the government.

The accusation is characteristic of Kayhan's behavior in fabricating incriminating cases against intellectuals, journalists and political activists.

The paper claimed that the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington DC has suggested to the US government "to exert psychological pressure on the people of Iran and use the accumulated anxiety and anger among Iranians to instil hatred toward the government, while “beautifying” its enemies.

Kayhan charged that reformist media in Iran constantly portray ordinary problems as crises to accomplish that objective and further Cato's agenda to reinforce the West's “minions” and collaborators. The effort, said Kayhan, is aimed at discrediting the government, erode the people's trust, having the idea of a regime change on its agenda.

Kayhan presented no evidence to support its wild accusations and it was not clear why it singled out the Cato Institute or how the US government could influence government-controlled media in Iran.

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Like similar cases in the past, the Kayhan quoted Khamenei’s past warnings about a media onslaught on the Islamic Republic. In this way Kayhan accused the reformist media and journalists of working against Khamenei's will as accomplices of the United States.

The Kayhan said that Shargh newspaper's coverage of recent flash floods in Iran was an example of the kind of articles that have a destructive role. Shargh had written mostly objective reports about lack of government warnings about the impending floods and lack of preparedness to deal with its aftermath.

The Kayhan also mentioned another report in the same newspaper last year about child marriage in Iran and characterized it as portraying a disparaging image of the country.

Kayhan made the same accusation about a similar report in Ebtekar newspaper and went on to quote a report in Etemad newspaper about the suicide attempts by 8 desperate workers, calling it mud-slinging against the government.

The hardliner daily also accused Iran's reformist press of featuring articles by Iranian expat journalists and criticized them for interviewing former deputy chief of the Iranian Environmental Agency Kaveh Madani, charging him as always of being a fugitive spy, while Madani has never been officially charged with any offense.

The Kayhan also accused the Jomhouri Eslami, a newspaper founded by Khamenei in 1979, of spreading lies by writing about drought in Iran quoting Madani, who happens to be an expert on water resources.

Meanwhile, the Kayhan claimed that some reformist journalists work for foreign-based media from Iran and get paid in dollars. Although some of these accusations are hard to prove, or in fact do not constitute an offense under Iranian laws, the hardliner Judiciary can use Kayhan’s claims to prosecute journalists in the future.

The Kayhan quoted Khamenei as saying in a meeting with Judiciary officials in June: "Some people tell a lie, or they spread a rumor… One of the duties of the Judiciary is to deal with these instances…If you do not have a law [for a certain situation], quickly make a law."

A statement by the ministry said that the arrests took place over the past three days in two locations in western and southern Iran, adding that the 10 were captured in possession of explosives, communication devices and weapons. 

The militants injured two Iranian intelligence agents in an exchange of fire before being detained, the statement added, without specifying where or when the clash took place.

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The ministry claimed that it had them under surveillance before they entered the country from Iraq and Turkey to bomb the gatherings for the Islamic month of Muharram, which started on July 30.

It also alleged that the militants were hired by Israel to make up for a failed attack at a facility in the central Iranian province of Esfahan last month by a Mossad-linked sabotage team who were purportedly members of an outlawed Kurdish rebel group Komala. 

Recently the Intelligence Ministry claiming has been making similar claims of uncovering alleged spy networks and thwarting operations following a major reshuffling of it rival, the IRGC intelligence and counter-intelligence leadership, widely attributed to reported Israeli infiltration and the inability of Iran’s security bodies to deal with the situation. Since May, several Revolutionary Guard personnel were killed or died in Iran, which Iran blamed on Israel.

Senior researcher of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Behnam Ben Taleblu told Sky News on Tuesday that following the death of al-Zawahiri, “All eyes are on Iran’s eastern border.” “With the killing of al-Zawahiri, the next up – believed to be number two of al-Qaeda – is assumed to be in Iran.”

“So that may mean that the Iranian government – if that individual is still there – will have to decide what to do; to expel this person or to allegedly promote them or to basically facilitate the rise of Al-Qaeda’s next leader.

US President Joe Biden announced Monday, August 1, that al-Zawahiri had been killed in a US drone strike over the weekend after US intelligence officials tracked him to a house in downtown Kabul.

Earlier in the year, Tallha Abdulrazaq, an academic with expertise in Middle Eastern security affairs, said that Iran has provided shelter to numerous al-Qaeda operatives over the years. Bin Laden’s son Hamza is believed to be among those to have been harbored in Iran.

According to the 2019 US State Department’s terrorism report, Tehran allowed al-Qaeda to transfer money via Iran, as well as to transit personnel and resources across conflict zones such as Afghanistan and Syria.

In the past years, several US officials, including ex-CIA director Mike Pompeo, accused the Islamic Republic of having links with al-Qaeda, citing documents that were declassified. 

Senior al-Qaeda facilitator and financier Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, also known as Yasin al-Suri, is also allegedly based in Iran.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said that the war veteran, identified as Khosro Yavari, committed suicide on Tuesday and succumbed to his burns after he was transferred to hospital. According to reports, it was the ninth case of self-immolation due to livelihood problems and vocational issues in the past 70 days. 

The most recent cases happened in the northern city of Lahijan and western city of Ilam due to financial hardships the victims faced.

The prosecutor of Lahijan, Ebrahim Ansari, said on Sunday that one of the workers of the city’s water and wastewater management company set himself on fire in protest to his suspension by the contracting company. Hengaw Organization for Human Rights also reported that a 30-year-old man, identified as Jamil Valibaygi, set himself on fire because of financial pressures. 

In June, two workers in Bandar-e Mahshahr in the southwestern province of Khuzestan also set themselves on fire in protest to their dismissal. They survived thanks to prompt intervention by their coworkers. Earlier, a worker in the city of Yasuj, the capital of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, set himself on fire over his inability to pay a debt of about 10 million tomans, or $300. 

Food prices have risen by more than 80 to 100 percent in recent months, on top of high inflation in the previous three years, while most wage earners get less than $200 a month.

Javan Daily has lashed out at the leader of reformist Jomhouriat [Republicanism] Party Rasoul Montajabnia for calling the Raisi administration's ministers, "yes men, political dwarves and individuals without commitments."

Javan daily said what Didban Iran [Iran Monitor] website had published as comments made by Montajabnia were examples of "insults and swear words."

Javan also criticized conservative websites such as Tabnak for "publishing accusations they would have condemned as insult if the same thing was said about them."

Montajabnia had characterized Raisi's comments about his economic plans including price rises as "irrational and childish." Meanwhile, he called Raisi's economic team "the weakest team of its kind since the 1979 revolution," and accused them of "masters of bluffing and making grandiose claims." He added that the members of the Raisi government are not fit for executive positions they hold.

In his interview with Didban Iran, Montajabnia had charged that Raisi's diplomatic team have always been bribing the Russians rather than trying to further nuclear negotiations with the West. He added that the government should stop its secrecy and talk to the nation about Russia's role in the failure of the nuclear talks, which prevented the lifting of sanctions and easing Iran's economic crisis.

He also seriously criticized the government for saying that the it can improve the economy despite US sanctions. "The government should be honest to the people and say that it is selling the country's oil at a discount price because of the sanctions. But unfortunately, the government is not brave enough to tell the truth to the people," Montajabnia said.

He accused Raisi of giving key jobs to people who are inferior to him in terms of knowledge and expertise and charged that "they are yes men who lack knowledge and executive experience."

Javan wrote that Montajabnia's behavior was contrary to the Iranian reformists claim about being the advocates of polite dialogue.

The reformist politician also accused the Raisi administration of being secretive about its performance and plans and also charged that First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, and his vice president for economic affairs Mohsen Rezaei have no real background in handling economic responsibilities. "The sheer presence of such individuals in Raisi's economic team has prompted economists to declare that a bad outcome is awaiting Iran’s economy."

Montajabnia argued that Riasi’s lofty promises a year ago when he took office are remembered as hollow slogans, and this creates wave after wave of dissatisfaction among Iranians on a daily basis.

He accused Raisi and First Vice President Mokhber of issuing orders rather than solving the country's problems while the nation, particularly the underprivileged strata are under immense economic pressures. He added that the Raisi government has set historic records of inflation as prices of for food and similar essentials have risen by 2 to 5 times in less than one year.

He said, "I am worried for Iran's future," adding that "We should accept that Iran's economy is bankrupt as most economists say, and that the situation is getting worse."