Rouhani calls for boosting non-oil...
The president renewed his call for the armed forces to stay away from economic activities and carry out “their main and heavy duty.”
Defending telecom minister
Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani brushed off attacks against his communications and information technology minister over charges of failing to create a “safe environment” in social media and leaving Iranian data vulnerable to espionage.
According to the Judiciary, 2,000 people in the southwestern city of Ahvaz and the general prosecutor’s office have lodged a complaint against the minister, Mohammad Javad Azari-jahromi.
“Someone in the Judiciary says they’ll lodge a complaint against a young minister. Well, he is not at all intimidated and is doing his job,” said Rouhani.
“Go ahead, lodge a complaint! The young minister is working for the benefit of the people and pays no heed to pointless orders,” he said defiantly.
A “lack of safe space” in social media has “drawn (young people) to Takfiri groups and eventually led to (last year’s) terrorist incident at the armed forces parade,” a cyberspace official at the prosecutor’s office, Javad Javidnia, told ISNA.
In September 2018, in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, in Khuzestan Province bordering Iraq, terrorists killed at least 24 people as they opened fire on a military parade.
Javidnia said a complaint had also been lodged against the managers of Telegram and Instagram.
Iran has in the past blocked access to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, and the Judiciary blocked the Telegram messaging app in May.
The Judiciary has also accused Azari-jahromi, at 37, the youngest member of Rouhani’s cabinet, of leaving Iran’s “big data” vulnerable to access by enemies, which enables them to commit “internet espionage.”
“Foreigners can analyze this data and use it to disrupt the country’s security and stability,” Javidnia said.
In January, Azari-jahromi opposed a mulled ban on the photo- and video-sharing application Instagram, saying it would only create new problems for the Islamic Republic.
Despite restrictions, top Iranian officials like Rouhani and the minister himself use services such as Twitter, which are widely accessible via proxy servers.
APF contributed to this report.