Iran's top lawmaker warns GCC over disputed Persian Gulf islands

In a letter addressed to Google, Meta, YouTube and Amazon Web Services, the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with the Iranian People warned that Iran’s widening use of AI-driven surveillance, recurrent shutdowns and a “white SIM card” scheme for officials had created a two-tier digital system isolating ordinary citizens.

The Iranian government enforces some of the world’s toughest online restrictions, blocking platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Telegram for the general public. Most people rely on slow, unreliable VPNs that authorities routinely disrupt.

By contrast, X's new location feature recently revealed that select users receive government-issued SIM cards or whitelisted connections to bypass national filtering and throttling altogether.

The issue drew wide attention over the past few weeks, when the X feature revealed numerous pro-government figures were posting from inside Iran without VPNs – despite long claiming they used the same circumvention tools as ordinary citizens.

The disclosures triggered heavy public criticism, with many describing the system as “digital apartheid” or a “caste-based internet” that rewards political loyalty and entrenches inequality.

EU says firms must bolster anti-censorship tools

Hannah Neumann, who chairs the EU delegation, said a free internet remains the only barrier against propaganda and intimidation. “Technology companies are the guardians of this freedom, and now is the time to take their responsibility seriously,” Neumann said, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Euronews.

She added that companies were capable of measures that “ensure these voices are not silenced.”

Deputy chair Bart Groothuis said digital repression had become central to Iran’s authoritarian model. “By supporting tools to circumvent filters, we can improve secure communication and give Iranians access to the free internet,” he said.

The letter urged firms to fund open-source VPN and censorship-bypass projects, expand encrypted communication features and develop in-app proxies to keep users connected during outages. It also asked Amazon Web Services and human-rights–oriented VPN providers to offer free or discounted server space to stabilize services for Iranian users.

European legislators pressed Google to continue backing Jigsaw, Outline VPN and its SDK, and to consider integrating these tools into major apps. Meta was asked to embed filter-bypass technologies into Instagram, Facebook and Threads. Companies were also urged to provide simple procedures for appealing blocked accounts and to increase cooperation with digital-rights groups.

US lawmakers pursue parallel push

In Washington, lawmakers introduced the FREEDOM Act on Thursday, which would require the secretary of state, the FCC and the Treasury to assess technologies capable of supporting unfiltered internet access for Iranians.

Representative Claudia Tenney highlighted the potential of satellite-to-mobile systems that could “bypass the limitations of censorship and government networks.” The feasibility review will also evaluate UAV-based platforms and counter-jamming tools.

Representative Dave Min, whose district includes a large Iranian-American community, said promoting internet freedom strengthens global family ties while confronting authoritarian practices.

Chad dismantled two networks accused of being tied to Iran, the report said quoting Chadian security forces.

Officials described a strategy of infiltration, indoctrination and promises of support for coups aimed at expanding Tehran’s influence in Africa.

According to Infobae, the interrogations detailed how the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force and Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) allegedly recruit and train African citizens for operations targeting Western and Israeli interests.

In 2023, Israel asked visiting Chadian President Mahamat Deby to reduce the influence of Iran and Hezbollah in Africa’s Sahel region, four years after the Muslim-majority country in central Africa restored its relations with the Jewish State.

Déby visited Israel to open Chad’s new embassy in the country, where he also made a rare stop at Mossad headquarters, a signal that the renewed ties carry national-security weight.

The alleged push for influence in Chad is not an isolated case, as Iran has been reportedly sending military equipment to Chad's eastern neighbor Sudan whose army is fighting against the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces.

Iran's alleged recruitments in Chad

The Infobae report says one of those detained by Chadian authorities admitted to investigators that he had been recruited by Iran's intelligence ministry. The detaine, identified as Ali Abdoulaye Mahamat, said the process began after studying at the Al-Mustafa International University in Iran's Qom.

Mahamat told authorities he met Iranian intelligence officers in hotels in 2022 and 2023. He said he was instructed to identify American, Israeli and French activity, recruit new members and map links between local rebel groups and Iranian handlers, according to the report.

He also described an intelligence officer named Karim, who he said escorted him to hotels, restaurants and secret locations and confiscated his phone. Mahamat told officials Karim demanded detailed information on foreign military movements and intelligence services operating in Chad.

Pressed by his handlers, Mahamat said he eventually provided names of Chadian intelligence officers and individuals allegedly in contact with Israelis.

Chad’s authorities say another detainee, Abdoulaye Ahmat Sheikh Alamine, confessed to being recruited by the Quds Force. During his interrogation, he said the cell he belonged to was directed by Department 400, which operates in Iraq, Africa and other regions.

He told investigators he received weapons training — including Kalashnikovs, RPGs and KFX systems — and traveled to Iraq under the guise of religious trips, where the group met Iranian contacts and trained alongside Shia militias, according to the report.

Mahamat also told investigators that MOIS officers posing as Iranian Foreign Ministry representatives instructed him to collect information on international presence in Chad, recruit assets for military training and assess the needs of rebel groups such as FACT.

According to Infobae, Chad’s security services say the revelations show a coordinated Iranian approach combining religious indoctrination, military training and promises of political power in exchange for attacks on Western and Israeli interests.

Chadian officials told the outlet their operations disrupted, at least temporarily, what they describe as Tehran’s efforts to expand influence and destabilize the region.

Last month, Iran International revealed an alleged Iranian plot targeting the Israeli embassy in Senegal and Israeli personnel in Uganda, which were thwarted by Mossad.

The operation was directed by the Quds Force, the IRGC’s overseas arm, which relied on a proxy network of Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals based in Iran, alongside locally recruited operatives in Africa — many of whom were said to have been enlisted through social media.

“Nobody in the GCC wants Iran to go down the drain,” Albudaiwi said at a panel titled Iran and the Changing Regional Security Environment during the Doha Forum 2025.

“We are here to talk about the present and the future – how to make our region as peaceful, as stable, as prosperous as possible along with our brothers and sisters in Iran.”

He said the GCC seeks a cooperative relationship with Iran based on dialogue, respect for the UN Charter, and non-interference in regional affairs. “We need to take the right steps towards trust-building measures,” he said.

“But there are really serious measures that we would like our brothers in Iran to take. The policies that Iran sometimes take really shake the stability of the region.”

Albudaiwi cited Iran’s support for Yemen’s Houthi group as an example of destabilizing activity and said Arab states astride the Persian Gulf had already taken steps toward de-escalation, including Saudi Arabia’s 2023 normalization agreement with Tehran and mediation efforts by Oman.

“We have put the right steps toward Iran,” he said. “What the GCC wants from Iran is simple and basic – like any normal neighborhood.”

He described Iran as part of the region’s shared culture and history but said progress required concrete change. “Iran is our neighbor, our history, our culture,” Albudaiwi said. “We have so much to share with Iran. It’s the present and the future that we should concentrate on.”

Meanwhile former Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran remains resilient despite recent challenges, stressing that the country has endured hardship throughout its history.

“We’ve had our ups, and certainly today is not one of our ups,” Zarif said at the Doha Forum. “Iran has gone through storms for almost seven millennia – we’ve been invaded, we’ve been occupied, but we never went down the drain. We are still standing up and we will continue to stand up.”

“The Persian Gulf is 1,375 kilometers long – this missile’s range is beyond that,” Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said in an interview with state television. He added that the weapon, built by the IRGC Navy, is fully indigenous and “can be guided after launch.”

His remarks came as the IRGC carried out the second phase of its naval drill, which began Thursday with ballistic and cruise missile fire at targets in the Oman Sea. State media said the exercise also included drone operations and air defense maneuvers around the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s southern islands.

Tangsiri said all weapons used in the drill were domestically made, including a new ballistic missile with “very high precision.” “Our enemies have seen its accuracy,” he said.

Iran’s missiles have a declared range of up to 2,000 kilometers, which officials say is sufficient for deterrence and covers Israel. The United States and its allies have called on Tehran to restrict missile development to under 500 kilometers, a demand Iran has repeatedly rejected.

The agreement was reached at the fifth meeting of the Iran–Russia Joint Working Group on Communications and Information Technology, held in Moscow, according to the Iranian broadcaster IRIB.

The document was signed by Meysam Abedi, Iran’s deputy minister of communications for technology and innovation, and Alexander Shoitov, Russia’s deputy minister of digital development, communications and mass media.

The accord covers cooperation in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital economy, smart government, blockchain and fintech, as well as technology parks and private-sector partnerships.

Abedi said the signing confirmed “the determination of both governments to expand cooperation in communications and information technology.” He said joint work would continue on data transit, e-government, and developing AI tools, adding that both countries aim to use each other’s experience to deliver “better products and services” to their citizens.

The new agreement follows the ratification of a 20-year strategic partnership between Iran and Russia earlier this year. That treaty, originally signed by Presidents Masoud Pezeshkian and Vladimir Putin in January, commits the two nations to closer coordination in defense, trade, and technology.

Iran’s parliament approved the pact in May with broad support. Lawmaker Hamid Rasai said it was “vital from economic, security, geopolitical, and diplomatic perspectives,” noting that both Tehran and Moscow face heavy Western sanctions.