Call for Unblocking Twitter to Counter Online Saudi War
“While the Saudis’ media war against Iran has reached its peak on Twitter, Iranians have a relatively limited participation rate on the platform as the social media outlet is blocked in Iran, failing to give a firm response to the Saudis' psychological war. This brings to mind the need for a reconsideration on whether to continue blocking access to Twitter”.
These lines make the main argument of a controversial article published Saturday on Tabnak, originally Baztab, a principlist outlet founded in 2002 by the IRGC’s Major General Mohsen Rezaei, as a reaction to the proliferation of reformist websites. “In recent months, Saudi Arabia has banked largely on cyberspace to lay the foundation for its psychological operations relying on social networks,” the report adds, sensing an online war and urging a response on Iran’s part. “The provisioned cyber group is capable of PSYOPs in the face of different events by engaging users from the Saudi Arabia and some other Arab countries, and the capability has become more evident recently,” according to the anonymous article.
Tabnak, known for its more open view in cultural and social affairs than in politics, goes on to elaborate on the Saudi media war against Iran, best exemplified in two recent episodes where Arabic Twitter hashtags were used, ironically in one occasion to make Iran appear as a victim of terrorism and in another as an organizer of terror. According to Tabnak, when a massive fire broke out in Bu Ali Sina Petrochemical Company in Mahshar, the Saudis launched the hashtag #ایران_تحترق (Iran burning) to manipulate the incident for their own propaganda. When a Wahhabi channel reported that battalions of the Eagles of Ahvaz claimed responsibility for the incident, the hashtag soon became a regional trend. Next came the hashtag #ایران_تدعم_الارهاب_بفرنسا (Iran supports terrorism in France) that tried to put the blame for the Nice attack on Iran. The main argument the Saudis made was the backlash from Iranian officials and press after the annual gathering of Mojahedin-e Khalgh Organization in Paris, attended by the former chief of Saudi intelligence Turki al Faisal. The naïve trick was to claim Iran organized the Nice attack in retaliation for the gathering.
Even though Tabnak’s argument might sound convincing, Twitter is a sensitive issue in Iran and any unblocking bid, if approved, will be subject to domestic political rivalry. Following a disputed presidential election in 2009, Iran blocked Twitter over security concerns as the social network had turned into a platform used to instantly share updates on street protests and at times to organize them. Since then Twitter has been occasionally stigmatized as a platform manipulated by western powers to influence the domestic affairs of independent states and trigger riots to protect their interests. Iran’s fear that foreign powers were involved in the protests, that some officials believed would not quench but with regime change, found justification in a unprecedented remarks made by the then US Secretary of State and current presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton who declared that the US promotes “the right of free expression and, it is the case that one of the means of expression, the use of Twitter, is a very important one not only to the Iranian people but now increasingly to people around the world.”
The security attitude toward Twitter is seemingly ceaseless despite new openings. Since President Rouhani took office in 2013, it has gradually become customary for members of his cabinet to launch accounts on different social media, including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Principlist who had reacted with harsh criticisms later joined the tide when the bureau of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei also set up accounts on Twitter and Instagram. Soon, nearly all media outlets followed suit as they now have an active account on Twitter. Twitter is undergoing a renaissance in Iran, as activists and ordinary users join in online campaigns that have culminated in some small-scale but real-life breakthroughs. Whether it be the paycheck scandal, the parliamentary election or hashtags of free this or that political prisoners, many sociopolitical debates find Twitter as one of the main publicity channels. Orthodox media outlets are opening sections in their Telegram channels to cover the latest trend on Twitter and many newcomers, humorously called ‘eggs’, are just joining Twitter, despite access difficulties.
None of these however have changed Iran’s official stance. Pretty recently, on July 4, Iran’s Telecommunications Minister Mahmoud Vaezi told media that a reported unblocking of Twitter by Irancell, the country’s second largest mobile network operator, is deemed illegal and should be investigated. Despite all such resistances, the proposition put forward by Tabnak might be considered as a harbinger of a shift among senior military and security officials. Mohsen Rezai, once appointed as the chief of the intelligence division of the IRGC, is reportedly the one who proposed that the IRGC should organize new branches to deal with internal opposition back in the 1980s. Now, a quick glance at his Instagram account serves as proof that his focus is gradually moving toward regional affairs and foreign threats he will not leave without a response.
Calling Twitter an efficient media and an international megaphone, the Tabnak article urges Iranian officials to take over before the Saudis do. “The truth is Twitter does not have negative moral aspects. The article implies in its conclusion that the concerning security aspects of Twitter have faded and now, given the fresh anti-Iranian gestures of the Arabs, other security concerns should be prioritized.