State-backed poll shows most Iranian students use foreign social media

"(Authorities) criminalized any content that encouraged election boycotts or protests, or that criticized candidates ... (for) higher voter turnout to make the election seem legitimate, despite the arbitrary disqualification of most candidates," the group said in a report on Thursday.

The Iranian judiciary had warned that electoral laws prohibited candidates and their supporters from using foreign social media platforms, nearly all of which are blocked in the country, forcing the population to use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass bans.

This was particularly evident in the lead-up to Iran’s snap presidential election, called after the sudden death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

In June, the Iranian Press Supervisory Board issued a directive warning that violators of electoral rules would face severe punishment, including a sentence of 74 lashes.

The instructions specified that disseminating content aimed at “the boycott of the elections and the lowering of participation ... (or) organizing any form of unauthorized protest gathering, strike, or sit-in” would be considered a crime.

The election campaign involved a boisterous contest among the 80 registered candidates, six of whom were approved by Iran's unelected Guardian Council.

'Internet freedom repression'

The latest Freedom House report ranks Iran as the world's third most repressive country in terms of internet freedom, trailing only behind Myanmar and China, which jointly hold the first position.

Among Middle Eastern countries, Iran received the lowest overall score of 12 points on Freedom on the Net's 100-point scale behind Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Iran has a long history of stringent censorship, blocking tens of thousands of websites over the past two decades. Traditional media, literature, and cinema are also closely monitored, with content assessed for compliance with Islamic principles and political loyalty.

During his campaign, President Masoud Pezeshkian had pledged to lift internet filtering - a promise that resonated with millions of Iranians.

However, Pezeshkian recently ordered the Supreme Council of Cyberspace to crack down on anti-filtering software, leaving his supporters confused and disappointed as many Iranians still depend on VPNs to connect with the outside world and conduct business.

Reformist political activist Hassan Asadi-Zeidabadi expressed his frustration on social media, posting on X: “I can’t understand the meaning of this order about anti-filtering software and how it can help the removal of filtering.”

Last year, Freedom House cited a significant decline in Iran’s internet freedom in 2023, largely due to the government’s intensified efforts to quash protests linked to the Woman, Life, Freedom protests of 2022.

Sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, the uprising was met with a violent crackdown and led to a marked drop in Iran’s internet freedom scores.

"Iranian nation-state actors used ransomware in a cyber-enabled influence operation, marketing stolen Israeli dating website data," Microsoft said.

Following October 7, when Iran-backed Hamas led an attack on Israel, the report cites a marked increase in cyber operations aimed at Israel. From October 7, 2023 to July 2024, "nearly half of the Islamic Republic's cyber operations… targeted Israeli companies", it said.

Iran's cyber efforts are not confined to Israel. The report adds that Iranian and Russian actors are leveraging the ongoing conflicts to spread "divisive and misleading messages through propaganda campaigns" beyond the immediate geographical boundaries of the conflicts.

Microsoft emphasized the continued targeting of the US and Persian Gulf nations, particularly the UAE and Bahrain due to their normalization of ties with Israel.

Cyber defense chief Gaby Portnoy warned in June that since the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7, cyberattacks by Iran have become more aggressive, targeting not only Israel but also its allies.

“We have identified that Iran is attacking its allies and other countries for information extortion and damaging digital services,” said Portnoy, head of the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD), at the Cyberweek annual conference held at Tel Aviv University.

Portnoy warned that the information stolen from government systems is then used for Iranian cyberterrorism, making Iranian cyber aggression "an international problem, not only an Israeli one, and therefore the solution needs to be international".

Also in August, Microsoft released its Threat Intelligence Report, which provided a comprehensive analysis of how various groups orchestrated influence campaigns aimed at swaying voters, particularly in swing states.

These operations were complemented by intelligence-gathering activities on political campaigns, potentially establishing a foundation for future interference, it said.

Canada's move was made alongside the US Treasury Department's decision to list the group as a specially designated global terrorist entity.

Samidoun, which means "the steadfast ones" in Arabic, had been registered as a non-profit in Canada since March 2021.

"Violent extremism, acts of terrorism or terrorist financing have no place in Canadian society or abroad," Canada's Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said in a statement.

"The listing of Samidoun as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code sends a strong message that Canada will not tolerate this type of activity, and will do everything in its power to counter the ongoing threat to Canada’s national security and all people in Canada.”

The US and Canada allege that Samidoun has links with another terrorist-designated group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Samidoun describe themselves on their official website as being advocates for the release of Palestinian prisoners. The organization did not immediately respond to an Iran International request for comment.

According to Public Safety Canada (PSC) many of those prisoners have ties to assassinations and attacks against Israel.

The PSC says Samidoun has been operating since 2011 and has 20 chapters around the world, including Iran, which Canada designated as a state supporter of terrorism.

Elham Abedini is listed as the coordinator of Samidoun's Iran chapter on Samidoun's official website.

NGO Monitor, a research institute that has been investigating and raising concern over Samidoun to governments around the world since 2018, says the group has an informal connection to the Islamic Republic of Iran through a shared ideology and Iran's pursuit of soft power.

The non-profit's communications director Itai Reuveni told Iran International that Iran uses groups like Samidoun to exert its ideology and influence in the West without revealing themselves as the source.

"This fits to the Iranian practice to only use proxies. Samidoun is part of the proxies. Not just Hezbollah and Hamas, but also through soft power proxies " says Reuveni.

The anti-west, anti-Israel and pro-Islamic Republic narrative fits in with Iran's narrative that it wants to export through groups like Samidoun, who have direct access to the West, Reuveni added.

In July, a top US intelligence official revealed that the Iranian government provided financial support for the pro-Palestinian demonstrations rocking US campuses. An Iran International exclusive also found evidence that Iran was behind campus protests rocking McGill university in Canada.

Matthew Levitt, the director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Samidoun was "explicitly active in some of the most vile pro-violence behavior at campus protests. "

Levitt, the author of Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God, says Iran has definite ties to the PLFP, for which Samidoun was acting as "sham charity" front, according to a US treasury statement on Wednesday.

“Organizations like Samidoun masquerade as charitable actors that claim to provide humanitarian support to those in need, yet in reality divert funds for much-needed assistance to support terrorist groups,” said US treasury official Bradley T. Smith in the statement.

Samidoun and Iran

Samidoun's director, Charlotte Kates, accepted an official "human rights award" in Iran on August 4th, an accolade that was also bestowed on the secretary-general of militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

Kates also appeared on Iran State TV, where she praised Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

“I spoke about the brave, heroic October 7 operation and the legitimacy of the resistance,” Kates said, dedicating the award to the “martyrs and prisoners of Palestine.”

In a March 2024 Samidoun-hosted webinar, Kates praised Hamas as “the people that are on the frontlines, defending Palestine and fighting for its liberation".

Kates is also under a hate speech investigation in Canada for praising the attack.

Samidoun's website covered Kates's meeting with Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights at the awards ceremony in Tehran. Kates also took part in a joint live interview with Gharibabadi.

The existence of Samidoun's Tehran chapter and their participation in Iranian state events could not happen without the Iran government's approval, says NGO Monitor's Reuveni.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, and the Popular Resistance Committees have themselves cited a relationship with Iran including military support.

Kates's husband, Khaled Barakat, also a director of Samidoun, was identified by the US treasury statement as allegedly backing the fundraising and recruitment efforts to support the PFLP's "terrorist activity against Israel". Israeli security service Shin Bet alleges that Barakat is an active senior member of the PFLP.

The PFLP operates in Gaza and the West Bank and participated in attacking Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, the treasury department added.

Some Iran watchers like Jason Brodsky say that the PFLP's direct links to Iran are evidence enough linking Samidoun to the Islamic Republic.

Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), says Kates' official visits to Iran, appearance on state TV and meeting with high-level officials like Iran's Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei points to an official link with the Islamic Republic.

In 2011 by the United States Department of State and the European Union sanctioned Ejei for his role in suppressing the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests.

"My concern is that the Islamic Republic likes to cultivate these individuals who have access to the West," Brodsky said.

"She is engaged in messaging that is very much in line with the Islamic Republic's ideological outlook," added Brodsky.

According to NGO monitor, Samidoun does not publish financial information, and is only registered in Vancouver, British Columbia.

However, Samidoun is a fiscally sponsored project of the Alliance for Global Justice (AFJG), an Arizona-based organization. The AFJG also is a fiscal sponsor for left-wing initiatives including the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).

In May 2019, PayPal, DonorBox, and Plaid shut down online donations to Samidoun due to its alleged links to the PFLP.

Samidoun has also been listed as a terrorist entity in Israel and banned in Germany and the Netherlands. The Dutch parliament voted to designate Samidoun a terrorist organization this week.

The overarching message from his previous meetings, Araghchi has reaffirmed Iran’s position that it "does not want war" but is "fully prepared for a war situation."

Following visits to Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, and Oman, Iran’s top diplomat will continue to Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey.

While Iran has actively tried to engage in regional diplomacy to counter Israel's actions and mitigate US influence, one former Iranian diplomat says the state’s strategy is bound to fail.

In an interview with the Iranian news site Khabar Online, Iran’s former ambassador to Jordan, Nosratollah Tajik, argued that the Islamic Republic cannot realistically expect neighboring countries to fully align with its stance against Israel.

Tajik says that Tehran lacks a comprehensive approach that aligns with the priorities of neighboring states, stating that many – particularly Saudi Arabia – are focused on economic stability and are unlikely to adopt an anti-Israel stance just to support Iran's position.

On October 1, Tehran launched more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, declaring the strike a response to the recent killings of Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah and Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) General Abbas Nilforoushan in Lebanon.

Since Israel's vow to retaliate, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly assured the Biden administration that any potential strike would target military assets rather than Iran’s oil or nuclear facilities. Prior to that, a top US State Department official told CNN that Israel has given no assurances it won’t target Iran’s nuclear facilities.

"Some think the US has turned a blind eye to Israel's actions! Not at all. The US, with full awareness, has allowed Israel a free hand to undermine Iran’s position in the region, enabling any crimes in Gaza and Lebanon," Tajik further argued in the interview. Currently residing in the UK, Tajik's diplomatic career faced complications following his 2006 arrest there on alleged arms trafficking charges—a case that garnered substantial media attention.

Amid his continuing Middle East tour, Iran’s foreign minister also announced that indirect talks with the United States would not continue, citing the worsening Middle East crisis as a barrier to further negotiations.

"We do not see a basis for these talks until the current crisis is resolved. Afterward, we will decide whether to resume negotiations and in what form they should continue," Araghchi said in Oman, which had previously facilitated indirect talks with the US.

Araghchi also held talks with a senior official from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement.

The specifics of his discussions with the Houthi official were not disclosed. However, Yemen’s Houthis, along with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, form part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance,” a coalition of militant groups aligned against Israel.

It is the third such arrest in a matter of weeks. Vladimir Varehovskim 35, from Petah Tikva in central Israel, is alleged to have agreed to carry out the assassination and now faces a court hearing on Wednesday, October 16.

In a joint operation, Shin Bet and Israel Police uncovered "an Iranian intelligence network working to recruit and activate citizens in Israel," according to a police statement.

“Some of the tasks performed were documented by Vladimir and payment was received for their performance,” a statement from Israel Police said. “The contact between him and the Iranian officials took place in the English language and as part of it he was asked to purchase a dedicated phone.”

After having done a series of smaller operations for Iran such as gathering information about an Israeli entity, hanging banners and spraying graffiti, “Vladimir later agreed to carry out a mission to eliminate an Israeli scientist for the sum of $100,000”, Israel Police said.

Ronen Solomon, an Israeli intelligence and defense expert, told Iran International: “The Iranians are learning from Western intelligence methods which had been taken from Israeli operations in order to target Israeli officials. Iran is also learning from the Russians.”

He said recruitment is being done by a cyber program, the latest suspect being recruited by Facebook. Recent recruits have also been recruited through Telegram.

“The Iranians see Russians as the weak link in Israeli society,” he said, hundreds of thousands having used Israel’s right of return laws for Jews since the fall of the Soviet Union.

“This is the second case in a row, so it could be the same handler in Iran,” he added.

Many of the roughly 1.5 million Russians in Israel are atheist and do not integrate as well into Israeli society as others, preferring to live in areas with large numbers of fellow Russian speakers.

Since the war with Ukraine making travel for Russians increasingly hard, Israel absorbed many more seeking a second passport.

It follows the arrest on Monday of Vladislav Victorson, 30, on charges of orchestrating an assassination plot on behalf of Iran. The Russian, living in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan, had been in contact through social networks with a person named "Mari Hossi”, speaking in Hebrew.

Victorson was also accused of agreeing to assassinate an Israeli citizen and throw a grenade at his home, the statement from Israel Police saying he had worked to obtain weapons, including a sniper rifle, pistols and grenades.

He was also accused of having carried out tasks including burying money and burning vehicles in Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv. In addition, he was asked to sabotage communication infrastructure and ATMs as well as set fire to forests.

He is alleged to have recruited two other citizens, including his partner, Anna Bernstein, just 18 years old, who took part in several tasks in the operation.

Israel Police said he was also accused of locating street gangs in order to recruit them to perform additional tasks and photograph demonstrators during protests.

Asher Ben Artzi, the former head of Israel's Interpol, warned: "The Iranian intelligence is quite sophisticated. They are very active."

A closed community, he said Israel's Russians are vulnerable to recruitment. "We can assume that as many of them have a tough life here, they could be more angry at the state of Israel. If you offer such people a lot of money, they don't resist such a temptation," he told Iran International.

"The bottom line is that Iranian intelligence is very dangerous for us," he added as cases of this kind become ever more frequent.

Iran-backed plots recruiting date back more than a decade and have seen Iran hiring a wide spectrum of society, including an orthodox Jew from the religious suburb of Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, arrested in July. In 2022, a network of Israeli women was uncovered as having been recruited by Iran.

Last month, Israel revealed they foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate top leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of Shin Bet and the country’s defence minister.

Moti Maman, a 73-year-old Israeli businessman from the city of Ashkelon, was accused of twice smuggling himself into Iran via Turkey to meet with intelligence officials directing the plots from Tehran.