Arash Aramesh

The commander of Iran’s police said January 15 that all emails and SMS messages in Iran are monitored by the authorities, and those who use such messaging to organize demonstrations will receive harsh treatment.

Police Commander Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, in response to a question about the department’s plans to deal with those who try to organize demonstrations by sending mass SMS messages or emails, said: “After the events of Ashura, (the demonstrations in December) the police and the judiciary decided not to be lenient anymore, and we will deal harshly with the violators.”

According to the state-run Iranian Labor News Agency, he said “All SMS messages and emails are sent from a place that is entirely under our control,” referring to Iran’s communication infrastructure, which is controlled by the government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. He warned internet users that anti-proxy software used to overcome the state filtering of websites would be unable to stop the government from finding out who is sending the messages and to whom.

Ahmadi-Moghaddam’s remarks show that there is an orchestrated effort by the Iranian authorities to instill fear among the protestors and prevent them from organizing future protests. Iran’s opposition websites have already announced that they are going to hold demonstrations during the week-long anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, beginning the first week of February.

Whether the authorities are able to monitor all SMS and emails is unknown, but they are in control of Iran’s communications, including landlines, cell phones, and the internet. This is not the first time Iranian authorities have warned of a ban on messaging. The Iranian government has cut off internet and SMS services in the past, fearing protestors would be able to communicate and organize demonstrations.