Iran Arrests Thirty Accused of Launching Cyber War

By Bobby Rajabi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On March 13, Iran arrested thirty individuals that were accused of waging an organized, United States-backed cyber against the Islamic Republic. The news was reported by Iran’s Fars news agency. Iran accused the thirty individuals and their American backers of gathering information on Iranian nuclear scientists. The Islamic Republic also claims that individuals are being sent abroad for training on how to gather information for the United States.

Iran’s judiciary claims that the thirty arrested individuals began being funded by the United States in 2006. The plan, allegedly, was to destabilize the Iranian government. The Iranian judiciary continued to allege that former U.S. President George W. Bush supplied four hundred million dollars for the cyber war project against the Islamic Republic. A State Department spokesman chose not to respond to the report by Fars.

The overall project was dubbed “Iran Proxy, ” according to the Fars report. The Fars agency reported that “thirty people were arrested in connection with an organized American cyber war netowrk via a series of complex security measures in the field of information technology and communications.”

One branch of “Iran Proxy” was allegedly capable of infiltrating Iran’s data banks and sabotaging its web sites. It was also capable of facilitating contacts between opposition figures in Iran and, allegedly, U.S.-funded media such as Voice of America radio and Radio Farda. Fars also reports that the cyber war included the staging of “illegal demonstrations and encouraging the public to take part in them after the president elections.”

Fars also reported that the judiciary said the U.S. used anti-filtering software during the demonstrations to wage psychological war against the nation.

Iran claims that it has dismantled several of the allegedly U.S.-backed opposition networks. It claims that among those involved in the cyber warfare is the People’s Mujahideen Organization, a leftist groups exiled from Iran which launched attacks on the country from Iraq during the Hussein Regime. Iran claims that cyber warfare included sending individuals to train with the PMOI in Iraq in order to launch additional attacks on the Islamic Republic.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Iran Says it Struck US-Backed Opposition Groups – 13 March 2010

CNN – Iran Arrests 30 Accused of U.S.-Backed Cyber War – 13 March 2010

Reuters – Iran Arrests 30 Over U.S.-linked Cyber Ring: Report – 13 March 2010

Author: Impunity Watch Archive