Iran International
A leaked audio file of IRGC commanders discussing massive financial corruption involving Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf has raised a storm in Iran.
The 50-minute audio-file includes a conversation between the former Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Commander Mohammad-Ali Jafari and his Economic Affairs Deputy Sadegh Zolghadr in 2018 about corruption involving IRGC's Qods Force and Tehran municipality and Ghalibaf, a former IRGC commander himself, who was Mayor of Tehran from 2005-2017. The corrupt dealing took place during Ghalibaf’s tenure as mayor.
The audio recording was published by Radio Farda, the Persian service of US-funded Radio Free Europe, on Thursday.
Some Iranian media have only cautiously reported the comments made by a member of the Parliament's National Security Committee, Mahmoud Abbaszadeh, and tweets by Ghalibaf's media advisor, Mohammad-Saeed Ahadian, both of whom tried to undermine the importance of the audio recording and its contents. The social media, however, is abuzz with hundreds of tweets about the leaked file the authenticity of which has far not been contested by anyone.
Abbaszadeh said Saturday that the publication of the recording was "enemy's psychological war" and warned about "infiltration" in the IRGC which resulted in the publication of the audio file. "We should admit that there is infiltration and that's a sad reality."
Ahadian, on the other hand, in several tweets claimed that the recording was leaked by Ghalibaf's enemies, he had been proven to be innocent by the Judiciary, and criticized hardliners close to former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili who are known as the Justice Seekers (Edalatkhah) of using the recording to attack Ghalibaf.
The discussion in the recording directly involves Ghalibaf, former Qods Force Commander Ghasem Soleimani, IRGC Coordination Deputy Jamaloddin Aberoumand, and Chief of the IRGC Intelligence Organization Hossein Taeb in covering up the embezzlement of 80,000 billion rials (around $3 billion at the time) between Tehran municipality and a firm controlled by the IRGC.
In the recording, Zolghadr tells Jafari that Ghalibaf suggested the IRGC and Tehran Municipality sign a false contract for the same amount to justify the disappearance of the money. "I told him [Ghalibaf[ that this would be a crime," Zolghadr says in the recording, claiming that Ghalibaf met him at a mosque near his house and demanded that he sign the memorandum but he did not agree. "It will harm me, it will harm Jafari, I will not sign it," he tells his boss in the recording.
Jafari tells Zolghadr that Soleimani who was well aware of the corruption, which prevented the funds from reaching the Qods Force, spoke to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei about it. In the recording Zolghadr says Khamenei had ordered 90 percent of the money earned by Yas Holding to be used to finance Qods Force and the remaining 10 percent to go to the IRGC for its general needs. He also says Taeb who has close ties to Khamenei's office and his son Mojtaba supports Ghalibaf in the matter.
Taeb has been accused of corruption in the past and is part of an inner circle of war veterans who served with Mojtaba Khamenei and have an influential network.
The money was mainly intended for funding the activities of Qods Force but somehow disappeared in the dealings between the municipality and Yas Holding, a subsidiary of IRGC's Cooperatives Foundation active in services, dealership, and subcontracting in the housing sector.
Yas Holding was officially dissolved in 2018, two years after its establishment, following the arrest of some of its officials. Four of the accused, including Ghalibaf's deputy in Tehran municipality, Isa Sharif, were put on trial and were sentenced to long prison terms and returning some of the huge sums they had embezzled.
Although the speech was about the political ideas of 10th century philosopher Avicenna, Larijani's speech was full of modern political jargon including job creation, economic development, political participation and competitiveness. As Iranian journalist Amir Reza Nazari of Mostaghel daily wrote in a tweetin an apparent analogy with the current Iranian government, "Larijani warned that the continuation of the current situati
on in Iran will lead to the decline and collapse of the regime."
Larijani and other candidates were barred from running in last June’s presidential election, ensuring the election of hardliner Ebrahim Raisi. At the time many predicted the end of “the end of the Larijani era.”
In the speech posted on Larijani's official Telegram channel, he said "The theory of the Islamic revolution was based on rationality and Islamic philosophy, but gradually the Islamic Republic became a populist government."
Larijani made frequent analogies between Avicenna's theory of governance and the current clerical political system. Quoting Avicenna, Larijani said that "a desirable government is one that can create jobs for citizens." Explaining how human societies fail, Larijani added that "only a lawful government that respects the law will not face collapse. In such a government, there is solidarity among citizens and the government operates based on rationality."
He explained that collapse takes place within societies. "It is not foreign invasion that destroys societies. A foreign invasion always takes advantage of flaws within the system." Larijani said in another part of his speech that "Governments that are too strict or too negligent lead to corruption and chaos in society. If leaders cannot convince citizens, then they will not trust the government and the society will collapse."
According to Rouydad24 news website, political observers interpret the appearance as a signal that Larijani wishes to take the lead in the revival of Iran's moderate and reform camp. The website added that the speech was part of Larijani's political manifesto.
As part of his new vision for a political society based on Avicenna's theory, Larijani said that "There should be political participation [in Iran] and economic activities should be based on competition." Meanwhile he stressed that "The existence of a middle class is necessary for restoration of justice in every society." Economists in Iran have recently accused hardliners of destroying the country's middle class and bringing the elites face to face with the underprivileged working class in a hostile confrontation.
According to Rouydad24, a figurehead has been missing in the reform and moderation camp in Iran following the death of Former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Larijani is now trying to fill the political vacuum left by the pragmatist figurehead.
Larijani's background as the son of a grand ayatollah, a former IRGC officer, a man who has studied pure mathematics and philosophy in the United States and Iran and a career politician who made sure of parliamentary approval for the 2015 nuclear deal, makes him an ideal candidate for the position. Those who are considered reformists and moderates would welcome the appearance of a leader after being repeatedly locked out of the political system by hardliners since 2020.
His weak point, however, is the involvement of his brothers in lang grabs and financial corruption which was revealed by Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the very parliament Ali Larijani chaired in the 2010s.
Rouydad24 website also said that Larijani's reference to how the political system might collapse is a serious warning to Iranian leaders, who have lost popular trust.
China has combined legislative actions and technological enforcement to regulate the Internet domestically, deeming it “The Great Firewall” of China. Cybersecurity expert, Robert Potter, has said in a joint report, "China is known to be building a techno-surveillance authoritarian state domestically."
The Islamic Republic of Iran follows China’s lead in systematic oppression techniques. Shargh newspaper, a moderate publication by Iran’s authoritarian standards reported, Iran’s parliament is in the final stages of passing a bill called the ‘Cyberspace Users Rights Protection and Regulation of Key Online Services Bill’. Contrary to its name, this bill will restrict the internet and allow the Islamic Republic to gather and store citizens’ data. Under this legislation, Iran’s intelligence services and military will have authorized access to user’s data.
The Chinese Communist Party’s pursuit of surveillance is no secret. China is creating a global communications network to track and store sensitive security data. Business, intelligence, and military communications will increasingly go through an interconnected Chinese-built system. Huawei, the world’s largest telecom equipment maker, has deep ties to China’s government.
China’s second-largest telecom equipment maker, ZTE, sells to more than 500 carriers in more than 160 countries, 60 of which have questionable human rights records. In addition to selling services, China provides training programs that include subjects like ‘manipulating public opinion.’ One could China is strengthening authoritarianism in the digital age.
During a briefing at an annual security conference in Munich, United States’ officials have warned that China will use Huawei’s presence in future communication networks to steal corporate secrets, censor content, and track dissidents. Critics of China say the rapid rise of these tech companies stems from the theft of intellectual property. Huawei has done business with North Korea, helped Iran spy on their citizens, and created ‘back doors’ for easier intellectual property theft.
According to Zhenhua data leak, Chinese companies have harvested information from millions of foreigners on behalf of Beijing’s intelligence services. Having access to and embedding their equipment in Iran’s communication infrastructure allows China to intercept information, putting Iran’s security at risk. Data can be extremely valuable, as it lays the grounds for a country’s intelligence services’ decision-making. Chinese technology companies have reassured the public on multiple occasions that they would never share the data with the Chinese government. They may not have a choice in the matter. Article 7 of China’s National Intelligence Law requires organizations and citizens to, “support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work.” This law gives the Chinese government unauthorized access to data, undermining whatever assurance Chinese tech companies may make.
While some countries have erected barriers to contain China’s security threat and ‘hybrid warfare’, Iran’s regime has opened its arms to Chinese technology and embraced China’s utilization of technology against citizens. Chinese technology will bring more digital forms of oppression and surveillance to Iran, further worsening human rights issues.
China has been enabling heavier digital oppression in Iran since 2010. The timing was no coincidence. Following the 2009 disputed elections in Iran, widespread anti-government protests threatened to overthrow Iran’s regime. China’s assistance helped the Islamic Republic double down against dissent. Suppression of an ever-increasing number of critics is at the center of Iran’s domestic policies and the regime’s very survival. Iran’s notorious Revolutionary Guard in cooperation with the clergy have turned the country into a military-religious state determined to keep the ruling elite in power, looking to combine its system of oppression with technology.
Enter China. Iran’s regime looks up to China as the perfect prototype. China saw the opportunity in 2010 to provide a solution. A report by Reuters shows ZTE, sold Iran’s largest telecoms firm (TCI)a “powerful surveillance system capable of monitoring landline, mobile, and internet communications.” Iran’s regime has used these technologies on numerous occasions. The internet was shut down during a water crisis in Khuzestan and Esfahan. Internet shutdowns will limit the population’s ability to express discontent or communicate with each other and the outside world.
ZTE’s marketing team refers to this spying as a “turnkey solution for lawful interception.” A new system called ZXMT was installed into ZTE’s network, which helps utilize a “deep packet inspection”—a powerful and intrusive technology that can be used to track internet users, search for, and reconstruct email messages, block types of traffic, and even deliver web pages to users. In a 91-page document called, “Talking to the Future”, ZTE notes ZXMT systems can be utilized for military and national security agencies, adding that it would also be, “invisible to targets.” In other words, the Iranian government can trace every online request to blocked websites back to the user, without the user’s knowledge. Andrew Lewman, the executive director of The Tor Project, which helps dissidents in countries like Iran and China surf the internet undetected said, “Iran has been using deep packet inspection since 2010 to monitor and block internet traffic.”
Iran and China renewed their ties in 2022 by signing a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement. China plans to invest $400B in Iran, which includes a 4G-5G network, most likely provided by Huawei. Saeid Golkar, an expert on Iranian security, points out that Iran will either duplicate or buy these systems from China. He adds “As Iran becomes more digitized, I’m sure that we will see more digital forms of oppression and surveillance.”
China’s tech companies have targeted dictatorships and democracies alike. Britain has taken the financial bait, undermining its national security by trying to save money on a less expensive Chinese infrastructure. Thousands of public institutions in Britain currently have Chinese-owned security systems, like camera surveillance, watching students, government workers, and citizens. Britain’s Metropolitan Police, hospitals, and universities use Hikvision cameras—the same company enabling police agencies in Xinjiang to detain an estimated 3 million Muslim Uyghurs. A Chinese official anonymously leaked a 403-page set of internal papers to The New York Times hoping that it spreads the word. China runs over 1,000 concentration camps in Xinjiang, as part of a “People’s War on Terror,” where they have been accused of torture, sexual abuse, widespread sterilization, and the killing of detainees. Leaked files show that in one town alone, more than 400 children have lost one or both parents to some form of internment. China has denied all accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and insists the detainees are in “vocational training” facilities. British officials and human rights campaigners say Chinese state-owned companies such as Hikvision and Dahua provide the “technological infrastructure” for the oppression of Muslim Uyghurs in China.
IPVM, the world's leading surveillance information source, reports Tiandy, another massive Chinese tech company linked to the oppression of Uyghurs, sells surveillance equipment to Iran’s government to be used in its military and law enforcement. Tiandy cameras are equipped with “facial recognition” as well as “ethnicity tracking” technology. The infamous “tiger chair,” a documented torture device, has been linked to Tiandy’s “smart” interrogation technology. The device is widely used on Uyghur detainees in Xinjiang. Uyghur survivors have confirmed these allegations in British courts. Families of those who speak on these crimes soon vanish or are apprehended. Authoritarian countries use these fear techniques to harass activists and stop the tales of their tyranny from being broadcasted to the world.
These surveillance systems are usually framed as necessary for combating rising crime and terrorism to keep citizens safe. However, these technological advancements are more often used to empower state crime and terror against citizens. The step-by-step guide to an authoritarian regime’s survival in the 21st century is to spy on, gather data from, censor and control knowledge of, and ultimately score citizens. Censorship and surveillance are not the Islamic Republic’s only two technological aspects of interest. Iran’s regime has implemented the Chinese “social credit” system, which is used to rate citizens based on their behavior, activities, and finances. China uses this system to blacklist millions of its own citizens and take away rights from citizens as they please. Individuals can be banned from flying, getting health insurance, and in some cases, getting fined to the point of financial ruin.Maya Wang, a senior China researcher for Human Rights Watch, says, “The social credit system gives a very powerful weapon to officials, in a country with very unbalanced relations between citizens and the government.” Iran’s regime shares this characteristic with China. The Islamic Republic’s record of crimes against humanity raises concerns, as China continues to enable them to rule with impunity.
To vividly illustrate how the Islamic Republic operates domestically, compare the severity of different types of crimes in the eyes of the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to a women’s rights NGO in Ahvaz, 60 women have fallen victim to ‘honor killings’ in the past two years in Iran. None of the perpetrators have been brought to justice, as most honor killings go unpunished. Rokna, the website that reported a recent honor killing of a 17-year-old in Ahvaz, was taken down by the government due to “publishing images and issues that violated public decency.” While the killers of the victims roam free, three Iranian women are serving 55-year sentences for disobeying the Islamic Republic’s dress code. They were charged for, "disrespecting compulsory hijab… assembly and collusion to act against national security… [and] encouraging and preparing the grounds for corruption and prostitution." In another case, a mother and daughter were jailed for 9 years for giving out flowers without headcovers as a form of peaceful protest to compulsory hijab. Providing a regime that implicitly condones ‘honor killings’, and peaceful protests as “crime” with the latest technology will only lead to catastrophe for their people.
There is no arguing technological advancements are extraordinary and humans have come a long way, but our future is in danger of being hijacked. China’s methods are spreading around the world and their propaganda machine is going to be embedded in democracies as well as dictatorships. China has already meddled in both the 2016 and 2020 U.S. Presidential elections. Facial recognition technology helps authoritarian leaders identify and prevent the organization of protests, and blacklist protestors. Authoritarian regimes will censor information, and brainwash citizens. Reporting on humanitarian issues in these countries will no longer be possible. Information will be controlled, and reality skewed. Authoritarians are using this technology to wage a war on our very basic freedoms. These leaders are behind disinformation campaigns that distract from the underlying truth that they see their people as an expendable human stock. Yeonmi Park, a North Korean survivor explains how China has enabled North Korea’s crimes for years in her book, In Order to Live. When she finally escaped North Korea, she said, “It amazed me how quickly a lie loses its power in the face of truth.”
