Iranian Ride-Hailing App Refuses To Address Data Breach

Narges Eskandari-Grunberg, an Iranian-German city councilor in Frankfurt, conveyed to Iran International correspondent Ahmad Samadi in Berlin, according to the organizer’s decision, the Islamic Republic is not allowed to take part in this book fair.

The exclusion of the Islamic Republic from the fair is attributed to several factors, including the ongoing suppression of the Iranian population, especially women, the detention of journalists, writers, and artists, the forced closure of publishing houses and bookstores for admitting women without compulsory hijab, as well as continued denial of access to and censorship of the internet. 

Eskandari-Grunberg emphasized that, due to the actions taken against the people of Iran, the Islamic Republic will not have a presence at this year's fair either. She added, "Last year, instead of the Islamic Republic setting up booths, several panels were organized to discuss women's rights and human rights in Iran, and this year, these panels will once again take place."

Last year, the Islamic Republic was barred from attending the fair due to its harsh response to nationwide protests in Iran, internet censorship, and the detention of journalists. More than 500 people were killed by the security forces in the five-month-long protests that started in September 2022, thousands injured and 22,000 arrested.

The seventy-fifth annual Frankfurt International Book Fair is scheduled to take place from October 18th to October 22nd, 2023.

Abbas Johari from the Tehran governor's office said the issue "entails expenses, particularly in the realm of education."

Mohammad Taghi Naghdali, a parliament member from Khomeinishahr, said, "People are displeased with the increasing presence of foreign nationals in schools," referring to it as an "invasion".

Foreign nationals is a term commonly referring to Afghans, whose numbers have been steadily rising as they flow across borders in the wake of the Taliban takeover two years ago.

In January, the Director-General of Foreign Nationals and Foreign Migrants Affairs at the Ministry of Interior stated that there were five million Afghan citizens residing in the country.

Naghdali has called for an explanation from the parliament's speaker regarding the matter, while others have raised complaints.

Last month, it was revealed that plans are underway to grant many of the Afghan population citizenship. Announced by MP Mahmoud Ahmadi Bighash, he said the regime wants to formalize the presence of one of the country's largest immigrant populations, a move dividing the establishment. 

The issue of unauthorized entry of Afghans continues to trouble the country, both economically and demographically. While the Islamic Republic might be considering accepting more Afghan Hazaras, who share Shiite beliefs with Iranians, there is a concern that an influx of Sunni migrants could potentially alter the country's social balance. Currently, Sunni Muslims constitute around 10 percent of Iran's nearly 88-million population.

The fast-growing Afghan population in Iran has given rise to protests on social media and even debates in Iran's government-controlled media, with many claiming that the government has a hidden agenda in letting thousands of Afghans enter the country illegally every day. Videos from the border regions show crowds of Afghans simply walking into Iran, and some claim that “a network” quickly helps find housing and jobs for them.

Iranian officials say there are five million Afghans in Iran now of which only 780,000 have refugee status. Most others are undocumented. Some estimates of the Afghan population reach as high as 8 million. A Tehran province official said Monday that 2.5 million Afghans have settled just in areas west of the capital.

Some government critics claim authorities are actively encouraging the growth of the Afghan population with incentives such as subsidized energy and food to remedy the problem of population decline or even to bolster its military by recruiting young Shiite Hazara Afghans. 

The Fatemiyoun brigade of Afghan fighters fought for the Revolutionary Guards in Syria. 

Thousands of Afghan militia, recruited and trained by the Revolutionary Guard, played a significant role in supporting Bashar al-Assad's government by fighting in Syria.

Tehran Municipality’s Hamshahri newspaper is among the hardline media that has been describing popular concerns as “Afghan-phobia”. The newspaper whose chief editor Abdollah Ganji is a former editor of the IRGC-linked Javan newspaper, published an article entitled “Who Benefits From the Afghan-Phobia Project” last week. 

The article said “exaggerated” news about the apparently fast-growing number of Afghan immigrants has affected the mindset of Iranians and that the concerns raised on social media have resulted in “unkind attitudes toward Afghan citizens”. 

State media and other hardliner publications also appear to be unusually sympathetic to this unprecedented policy of opening the doors to Afghan immigration.

Recent video of Afghans celebrating the Taliban rule in Mashhad.

Not only reformist media that over the years had been more sympathetic to Afghan immigrants, but also some conservative media and figures such as Jomhouri Eslami newspaper and the former chairman of Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, have become increasingly vocal in criticism of what they call uncontrolled Afghan immigration and warned about “security threats” that may result from that.  

A commentary entitled, “The Dangerous Aspirations of Radical Afghans in Iran” published by the newspaper Sunday warned that the Taliban may be harboring dangerous plans for Iran and may attempt to use “radical Afghans in Iran” toward securing their own interests given “the [existence of a] divide between the people and government in Iran and extensive frustration of the Iranian people”. 

The warning came after a video of pro-Taliban Sunni Afghans celebrating in Mashhad on September 29 went viral on Persian-language social media. The video showed the celebrants raising the flag of the Taliban Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and chanting anti-American slogans. 

The religious city of Mashhad is Iran's second largest city where the shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam of Shiites, is located, while at least a segment of Afghan migrants are fierce Sunnis. 

Hardliners’ positive attitude in the past two years toward the Taliban despite the Shiite-Sunni divide is unprecedented in the history of the Islamic Republic where hardliners and top Shiite clergy have always been highly sensitive to the growth of the Sunni population in the country. 

“Around Mashhad, the Sunnis are buying land and houses from Shiites to increase their weight in the population. I told the officials that if they do not find a solution to these problems today, it may reach a point where no action can be taken," Nasser Makarem Shirazi, a source of emulation in Qom, warned in 2016. 

Similar religious concerns may be behind some hardliners’ concerns over allowing an increase in the number of Afghan immigrants including Kayhan, a flagship newspaper close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei which has been extremely supportive of President Ebrahim Raisi and his government. 

On Sunday Kayhan printed a reader’s message who has urged authorities to expel “illegal” Afghan immigrants because they are benefitting from “hidden subsidies including food, housing, public transportation and healthcare [subsidies]”. 

Saleh Nikbakht, 72, is facing charges of "anti-system propaganda" in a branch of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network.

Mahsa Amini's death in morality police custody sparked the last year of uprising which has rocked the regime to its core.

The initial court session for Nikbakht took place in August, during which he was accused of the charges stemming from his interviews, including one discussing the legal aspects of Mahsa Amini's case.

Ali Rezaei, Saleh Nikbakht's attorney, revealed that the court was adjourned to a later date because the judge insisted on hearing the Ministry of Intelligence expert's opinion, who is also a complainant in the case.

During that session, Nikbakht refuted the allegations and criticized the formation of the case as being contrary to the law. He had previously raised objections to the forensic report attributing Amini's death to a "heart attack" and an "underlying disease."

He had called for a "reinvestigation and the establishment of a new committee with the presence of respected and trusted medical professionals from the country's medical community."

Additionally, nine interviews conducted by Nikbakht between 2019 and 2023, covering topics such as the challenges faced by Kolbars and confrontations between security forces and Afghans, have been included as "evidence" in his case.

One such user is the propagandist Ali Akbar Raefipour, whose recent purchase of the blue verification tick has stirred massive controversy on social media.

Hashem Firouzi, a social media activist, voiced his concerns, stating, "They pay $8 a month for the Blue Tick to the United States, and then they tell us that the United States is on the verge of decline."

Several other Iranian officials, including Labor Minister Solat Mortazavi, also subscribed to X in June. Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), has rebranded the platform and introduced a premium option as the exclusive means of obtaining the coveted Blue Tick verification.

Parliamentarian Bijan Nobaveh Vatan recently criticized the presence of Iranian officials on the former Twitter platform (X), highlighting the hypocrisy, stating "The first step in fostering trust in domestic platforms and discouraging the use of foreign platforms is the adherence of officials to the relevant laws."

In a related development, a new Iranian social network called Virasty has emerged, closely copied from Twitter in both its features and logo design.

Iran has long maintained strict internet censorship, blocking major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. In the wake of recent protests, Instagram was also blocked.

Social media users in Iran have largely refrained from using domestically developed social media applications like Rubika, Eitaa, Soroush, and Nazdika, citing concerns about their quality and privacy shortcoming as digital surveillance continues to gain pace.