Iran Bans Banks From Sending Statements To ‘Foreign’ E-Mail Addresses

Many Iranians have complained of disruptions to Gmail and other “foreign” e-mail services in recent months.

May 08, 2012

Iran’s minister of communications and information technology, Reza Taghipour, has sent a letter to the head of the country’s Central Bank, Mahmud Bahmani, asking him to instruct banks to refrain from sending bank statements to e-mail addresses administered by foreign providers.
In his letter, Taghipour says that banned foreign e-mail providers include Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, and MSN.
The communications minister has called on banks to only accept national e-mail addresses from customers when they open accounts.
Taghipour has requested that banks provide access to the Internet for customers to be able to create national e-mail accounts at their premises.
The move appears to be aimed at forcing citizens to join the national e-mail system, which many Iranians have been reluctant to use.
Some Iranian websites have reported that the use of the national e-mail is obligatory for those working for the government and state institutions.

Counter-terrorism; South Sudan; Iran; Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and more | UN Dispatch

Counter-terrorism: At the Security Council’s high-level debate on Counter-terrorism today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he hoped Member States will decide to create the position of a UN Counter-Terrorism Coordinator to promote better coordination, collaboration and cooperation among all players.

Mr. Ban told the Security Council, during its debate on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, that terrorism is a significant threat to peace and security, prosperity and people, and the global community continues to pursue a robust and comprehensive response.

Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council says international terrorism is increasingly motivated by intolerance and extremism and its perpetrators are increasingly resorting to kidnapping for ransom and coordinating acts with organized crime. A presidential statement approved by the council Friday also expressed concern at the growing use of the internet and new information and communications technologies by terrorists to recruit, incite, finance and prepare their illegal activities.

South Sudan: The United Nations announced today that U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay will visit South Sudan for four days starting Tuesday. Pillay is to meet with South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and other top government and civil leaders beginning Tuesday. She’ll discuss the risk to civilians caught up in the hostilities between both countries.

Iran: A group of independent UN experts today condemned the ongoing arrests and harsh sentencing of human rights defenders in Iran, and urged the Government to ensure they are provided with adequate protection. Along with fellow experts, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed voiced particular concern about the situation of Nargess Mohammadi, whose state of health is reportedly extremely fragile.

DR Congo: The UN refugee agency is helping more than 20,000 people who have fled fighting between government forces and renegade troops in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in recent days and found shelter in areas near Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. According to UNHCR field staff, people are still heading toward Goma and its environs from their homes in the affected Masisi and Walikale territories, located west and north-west of Goma, but the flow has eased slightly. The refugee agency has registered 10,300 people at a spontaneous site 25 kilometres from Goma, and 9,000 in Mugunga III, one of 31 UNHCR-run settlements for IDPs in North Kivu.

UN Youth Forum: The creation of green jobs is essential to ensure a sustainable future, United Nations officials stressed today at a forum held at the Organization’s Headquarters in New York aimed at giving young people a platform to voice their concerns, experiences and ideas to tackle youth unemployment.

The forum, whose theme is “Empowering Youth with Better Job Opportunities,” brought together young delegates and entrepreneurs, students and representatives of youth NGOs. Participants took part in two interactive dialogues, the first one focusing on education and training, and the second on the creation of green jobs and the conditions needed to create them.

In her address to participants, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro stressed that youth are mobilizing like never before and that their ideas can help countries achieve their sustainable development objectives.

Right of Indigenous Peoples: A United Nations fact finder surveying conditions of Native Americans and Native Alaskans says he will recommend in his report that some of their lands are returned.

James Anaya has been meeting with tribal leaders, the administration and Senate members over 12 days to assess U.S. compliance with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He plans several suggestions in his report, likely due out this fall. Anaya says land restoration would help bring about reconciliation. He named the Black Hills of South Dakota as an example. The hills are public land but are considered sacred land by Native Americans.

via undispatch.com

Iran News Round Up April 16, 2012

Revolutionary Guards (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh, Ahmad Majidyar and Michael Rubin (E) = Article in English

Politics

• Gholam-Hossein Elham, Islamic Steadfastness Front co-founder, says the Supreme Leader appointed some individuals to the Expediency Council just to keep them employed. He continued: “In the Expediency Council, appointment of individuals is also based on some kind of expediency… Reappointment of Mr. Hashemi [Rafsanjani] is what the Leader found more expedient than his replacement, but it is clear that the Council has lost its effectiveness… which may be due to its vengeful and harsh behavior towards the cabinet…”

Diplomacy

• The United Arab Emirates withdraws its ambassador from Tehran following Ahmadinejad’s visit to Abu-Musa island, which the UAE claims as its territory.
  • Jomhouri-ye Eslami editorializes: “We found it necessary to recommend the Sheikhs of the Emirates know their limits… Reacting to the Iranian president’s visit to the Iranian island of Abu-Musa, the foreign minister of the Emirates did not even observe politeness in his words and used expressions outside the diplomatic norms like primitive Arabs… Statements made by the foreign minister of the Sheikhdom of the Emirates, should they not be due to his ignorance, may have a dangerous background. And one can see the hands of colonial powers and Zionist provocations behind it… We recommend the Sheikhs of the Emirates not to ignite the wood which would start the hell in the region which the Zionists and colonial Western powers desire.”
• Farzad Esmaeili, Air Defense Commander:
  • “The Air Defense Force… is the first line of defense in the face of any aerial threat of the enemy. By using the entire potentials of the armed forces… and by establishing a command and control system, it safeguards Iran’s air territory… Divided into air defense zones, it is tactical and self-reliant in most areas in Iran. It reports to the Army, but has a centralized command structure utilizing the air defense units of the Army and the [Revolutionary] Guards…”
• [E] Chairman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi on Monday rejected a recent offer made by the US for the resumption of ties and direct negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

Military and Security

• Khatam al-Anbia Construction Base of the Revolutionary Guards is granted a no-bidding $17 billion Haraz Dam project. The handover takes place as a Chinese company pulls out of the project.
• [E] Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Brigadier General Hossein Salami announced that the IRGC plans to stage several war games in different regions of the country in the current Iranian year (started on March 20).

Nuclear Issue

• Negotiations in Istanbul between Iran and the 5 1 Group:
  • Said Jalili, Supreme National Security Council secretary, defends the Islamic Republic’s record of negotiations with the 5 1 Group:
    • “We believe the positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran provides a great opportunity for cooperation in nuclear issues. The fatwa [religious edict] of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution against nuclear arms and considering them haram [religiously impermissible] is a great opportunity to move on and to disarm…”
    • “We have always cooperated with the nuclear inspectors… and it is not that the NPT demands unhindered access to all sites…”
    • “You know that the IAEA general secretary has, in 25 reports, announced that Iran has not deviated from its peaceful nuclear goals. This was also announced by the United States intelligence agencies…”

The boomerang effect: Could American cyberweapon be turned against us?

Written By Jeremy A. Kaplan, Alec Liu Published March 31, 2012

FoxNews.com

The 1983 movie “Wargames” depicted a dystopian vision of a computer-controlled armageddon. Today, cyberwar is very much a reality. (United Artists)

Viruses like Stuxnet and Duqu are the atom bombs of cyberwarfare, experts say, a key tool in U.S. and foreign military arsenals. But some worry that this new generation of digital weapons could be co-opted by enemy forces — and used against their creators.

After the Stuxnet virus hit Iran‘s nuclear power plants in 2010, it was collected and disseminated, falling into the hands of hackers and code-crafters worldwide. Richard Clarke, the former counterterrorism chief, is confident that the U.S. wrote the code — and may have allowed the U.S.’s greatest cyberweapon ever to leak into enemy hands.

“It got loose because there was a mistake,” Clarke said in an interview with the Smithsonian. ”And if you’re a computer whiz you can take it apart and you can say, ‘Oh, let’s change this over here, let’s change that over there.’ Now I’ve got a really sophisticated weapon. So thousands of people around the world have it and are playing with it.”

SUMMARY

The Stuxnet malware was the culmination of a vast technical and espionage effort that had one target in mind: Iran’s nuclear plans. Its success set back the Iranian program for years.

July 13, 2010: Stuxnet is discovered, though few realize what exactly it is.

Nov. 26, 2010: Experts begin to fully understand the implications of the malware.

Oct. 14, 2011: Duqu, the first clone of the Stuxnet virus, is discovered by Symantec researchers.

Feb. 14, 2012: Iran finally disables the Stuxnet virus, experts say.

“And if I’m right, the best cyberweapon the United States has ever developed, it then gave the world for free.”

Call it the boomerang effect — the weapon you designed to hit others can come right back at you.

And while many still disagree that the U.S. was responsible for Stuxnet, often citing Israel as a prime suspect, the software is now unquestionably out in the wild. What if someone used it against us? Can viruses in general be turned against their masters?

Yes and no, explained Liam O Murchu, a manager of operations at Symantec Security Response, where the firm has tirelessly analyzed Stuxnet and variants such as Duqu.

“From a practical view of what you can actually do, it would be very hard to take Stuxnet, reimage it, and target someone new without the source code,” O Murchu told FoxNews.com. “So from that point of view, it’s not so dangerous to have Stuxnet out in the wild right now. Even if you get your hands on it, you don’t have the source code to refashion it to do something else.”

Retired general and former CIA chief Michael Hayden thinks the issue is far more black and white.

“There are those out there who can take a look at this … and maybe even attempt to turn it to their own purposes,” he said in an interview with the CBS television show “60 Minutes” earlier this month.

“The best cyberweapon the US has ever developed, it then gave the world for free.”

Q&A with former member of IRGC: Guards Could Negotiate with U.S. and Turn Against Khamenei in a Crisis

March 6th, 2012 Filed Under : Domestic Relations, News Features, U.S. Iran Relations

Editor’s Note: Amid the escalation of tensions between Iran and the West and the upcoming parliamentary elections, InsideIran’s Reza Akbari conducted an interview with Dr. Seyed Ahmad Shams, a former IRGC political adviser. This is the second part of the interview. Click here to read the first part.

Q: Is there a possibility that the United States government could leave Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei out of the equation and instead negotiate directly with the Revolutionary Guards, just as it negotiated with the Egyptian army before former President Hosni Mubarak’s downfall?

A: The dominant segment in the Revolutionary Guards includes a spectrum of forces with diverging tendencies. I think what some commanders of Revolutionary Guards refer to as “velayat” (Guardianship of the Jurist) does not originate from a deep-seated belief but stems from personal and economic interests that ensure inclusion in the pyramid of power. It is possible that if serious problems arise, this impassioned support will collapse; any threat to these interests can even lead to confrontation with the Supreme Leader. The behavior of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in recent years and his struggle with Khamenei over conflicting interests mirrors perfectly the behavior of other members of Revolutionary Guards in the future if serious problems break out. As Mohammad Nourizad has asserted in one of his letters to Khamenei, “At a time when the country’s system experiences probable changes, individuals such as Hussein Shariatmadari and some chiefs of Revolutionary Guards will be the first to denounce you.”

The Iran Conflict Comes To The Caucasus

Mourners carry the coffin of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan during his funeral in Tehran on January 13. Roshan is the fourth Iranian nuclear scientist to be assassinated in two years. Iran accuses Azerbaijan of colluding with Israel in the killings.

By Brian Whitmore

February 17, 2012

When police in Tbilisi discovered and defused a bomb on the car of an employee of the Israeli Embassy on February 13, it marked the second time in less than a month that the Jewish state’s diplomats had become the target of an attack in the South Caucasus.The other incident came in late January when Azerbaijani security officials said they had foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate the Israeli ambassador, a local rabbi, and other prominent Jews in that country. Police arrested two Azerbaijani nationals in connection with that plot.

In both cases, Iran has been named as the suspected mastermind. Israel publicly accused Tehran of being behind the aborted Tbilisi attack. And officials in Baku said the two Azerbaijani suspects arrested in January had collaborated on the alleged assassination plot with an Iranian citizen connected to that country’s security services.

Iran has denied involvement in either incident. But analysts say the two cases illustrate how Georgia and Azerbaijan — due to their proximity to Iran and their close relations with Israel and the United States — risk being drawn deeper into the quickly escalating conflict between Tehran on one side and Israel and the West on the other.

Iran Daily Brief February 20, 2012 – Full Report

International Affairs

Ahmadinejad in Islamabad for a trilateral Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran summit – The three leaders stressed the need for economic cooperation and completion of all projects, especially gas pipelines, one to import gas from Iran and the second from Turkmenistan via Afghanistan and will be extended to India.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman: Military intervention in Syria will be “very dangerous” – Ramin Mehmanparast said that a military intervention in Syria will be “very dangerous” to regional security and stability. He added that the legitimate demands of the Syrian people should be met, and reforms should be made in Syria. He added that Bashar al-Assad’s government has so far implemented considerable reforms. Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs, praised the Syrian government for planning a referendum on Syria’s new constitution, and urged the Arab League, Europe and the UN to support the Syrian government’s bid. He also called on the Arab League to fulfill its duty to prevent any foreign interference in Syria.

Intelligence Minister: There is an ongoing all-out war against the Islamic Republic Iran – Heidar Moslehi stated that “Based on accurate information, Iran is currently in a ‘heavy soft war’ situation.” He added that the enemy has hatched different plots in almost all fields and that the Ministry of Intelligence has so far countered enemies’ countless plots. Moslehi noted that the plots have caused many threats, but have also created opportunities. He stressed the importance of crafting new strategies to face the new threats that have changed in nature etched against Iran.

Strong criticism of the Iranian chargé d’affaires in Egypt and Iranian policy towards Egypt in general – An editorial in Asr Iran directed sharp criticism at the positions taken by Mojtaba Amani on the chargé d’affaires of Iran on Egypt. Under the headline, “Are you protecting the interests of Iran or Egypt?!” Asr Iran comments on an interview Amani gave to Al-Ahram in which he expressed Iran’s immediate willingness to strengthen diplomatic ties with Egypt and provide urgent economic assistance to the Egyptian people as they face pressure and threats from the US. He also noted that Iranians are eager to visit Egypt. This is not the first time that senior Iranian officials express such positions towards Egypt. He remarked that Iranians have not forgotten that President Ahmadinejad announced at a press conference in 2008, “I declare emphatically that if the Egyptian government expresses readiness, by the end of the day I will open an Iranian Embassy in Egypt.” Egyptian officials at the time received his words with apathy and disregard, in Iran with surprise and shock. After the Egyptian revolutionaries won, they received a similar message from Iran, and they continued to ignore them, claiming that now is the time for a transitional government, and these matters should wait until later.

Now representatives from Iran’s Interest Section in Egypt are making statements, saying that the Iranian people are even willing to pay for renewing diplomatic ties with Egypt. They also promised that if the US stops financial aid to Egypt, Iran is ready to immediately provide alternative assistance to Egypt.

Iranian and Hezbollah Terrorist Attacks against Israeli Targets Abroad

The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

February 19, 2012

 

Iranian and Hezbollah Terrorist Attacks against Israeli Targets Abroad
The Situation on the Ground and Background Information ¹
(February 15, 2012)

 

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Overview

1. For the past half year (May 2011-February 2012) Iran and Hezbollah have organized and carried out a terrorist campaign against Israeli targets abroad. So far six attacks have been attempted in five Asian countries, four in sequence (Turkey, Azerbaijan, twice in Thailand) and two simultaneously (India and Georgia). Several methods were employed, the most conspicuous of which, according to information made public so far, was the attaching of a magnetic explosive device to a vehicle (or vehicles) mainly used, in our assessment, by representatives of the State of Israel.

2. Iran (through the Quds Force and other apparatuses linked to the regime) conducts a global terrorist campaign against countries and individuals it perceives as its enemies: the United States and the West, Israel and the Jewish people, Saudi Arabia and other pro-Western Arab countries, and Iranian and foreign figures who oppose the Iranian regime. Hezbollah and foreign operations apparatus serve as the main Iranian proxy, handled by the Iranians for subversion and terrorism in the Middle East and around the globe. Both the Iranians and Hezbollah repeatedly and strongly deny involvement in terrorism and subversion around the globe.

10 Questions and Answers: What the U.S. Should Do About Syria

Morgan Roach February 16, 2012 at 4:08 pm

 

An armed Free Syrian Army rebel stands inside a house in the north Syrian city of Binnish on February 15, 2012.

As the violent government crackdown continues in Syria, the United States is faced with a series of questions about what role it should play in the international response. Here are ten questions and answers about the road forward:

Does the U.S. have an interest in the Syrian uprising?

The Assad regime has supported numerous Palestinian, Lebanese, Iraqi, and Kurdish terrorist groups in attacks on Americans and U.S. allies. Furthermore, it has subverted Lebanon’s independence, assassinated its leaders, and blocked Arab peace efforts with Israel, and it remains both a state sponsor of terrorism and Iran’s most important ally. The United States has a strong interest in reducing terrorist threats to Americans and U.S. allies, containing Iran, and shoring up regional stability.

Should the U.S. participate in U.N. peacekeeping?

Earlier this week, the Arab League issued a vague proposal for a joint Arab League/United Nations peacekeeping force to be deployed to Syria. However, there is little peace to keep. As long as the Assad regime and the myriad of opposition groups that it has spawned are locked in a power struggle, no outside force is likely to bring peace. Rather, any outside peacekeeping force would become embroiled in the conflict as a combatant and thereby increase the suffering of the Syrian people.

Iran News Round Up February 13, 2012

Revolution Day Poster (Photo credit: gordontour)

A selection of the latest news stories and editorials published in Iranian news outlets, compiled by Ali Alfoneh, Ahmad Majidyar and Michael Rubin.  To receive this daily newsletter, please subscribe online.

  (E) = Article in English

Politics

• The Islamic Republic celebrates the Revolution Day:
  • Ahmadinejad addressing the crowd on the Revolution Day praises Iran’s progress on all fronts. 
  • According to Khabar Online, close to parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, there were no placards of Ahmadinejad among the demonstrators celebrating the Revolution Day.
  • The crowd in Tehran chanted slogans against Rafsanjani as Rafsanjani and his followers showed up at the Tehran Revolution Day rally.
• Hamid Rowhani, head of the Historical Studies Foundation, calls the Ahmadinejad group “the Hojjatiyeh Society,” a reference to the pre-revolutionary semi clandestine Hojjatiyeh Charitable Society banned by Grand Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini. Rowhani also accuses the Ahmadinejad group of believing in “the Satanic thesis that one must spread corruption to hasten the emergence of the Imam of the Era, and of expanding embezzlement, corruption, theft of public funds and moral and economic corruption.”
• Ayatollah Mohi al-Din Haeri Shirazi, Assembly of Experts member, says that “the Mahdavi government [government of the 12th Imam of the Shi'a] in Iran began with the victory of the revolution…” Haeri Shirazi added that the Twelfth Imam remains hidden during this government, and “his deputy, His Holiness [Ali Khamenei] is in charge of the affairs.”

Diplomacy

• Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani addresses the crowd in Mashhad on the occasion of the Revolution Day:
  • “I urge some regional states that were on Saddam’s side during the [Iran/Iraq] war and are now conspiring against the Iranian nation along with the United States to stop doing so, since the clemency of the Iranian nation towards them will not be repeated…” Larijani added that the regional countries should not follow the policies of the United States towards Iran hoping to find “burned ground,” and concluded: “If there is a conspiracy against our nation, it will spread to the entire region.”