For more than three months, ordinary Iranians from all walks of life have taken to the streets to vent their anger against their country’s ruling clerical system. What started as grassroots unrest sparked by the death of his 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in mid-September at the hands of regime security forces has morphed into something more: Iran’s rigid religion It is a fundamental rejection of the government system.
But Iran’s repressive regime is fighting back. Iranian officials have admitted to killing more than 300 protesters across the country so far in their efforts to quell the protests. I say. It also imposes a number of social restrictions, from suppressing media coverage to heightened surveillance of opposition activists.
In these efforts, Tehran has been supported by its key partner, the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Despite grappling with domestic unrest caused by an unsustainable “zero COVID” strategy, Beijing has stepped up its efforts to help Iran’s ruler Ayatollah suppress the country’s captive population. plays a major role.
The scope of its role is explained in new research by the Foundation for Defense of Democracy (FDD). “Iranian government representatives have unveiled plans to use smart technologies, including AI-powered facial recognition, to maintain stability in the regime and neutralize dissent,” the report stresses. . “Enhancing cooperation with China is central to these efforts.”
FDD’s research focuses on Tiandy Technologies, a technology company based in Tianjin. Over the past few years, Tiandy Technologies has emerged as a national leader in surveillance and surveillance technologies such as facial recognition, artificial intelligence-driven emotion detection software, and closed circuit. tv set. Its expertise has been used by the Chinese government to broadly crack down on the country’s Muslim minority, the Uighurs. “Both Tiandi’s testimony and Chinese government press releases advertise that Chinese officials are using the company’s products to track and interrogate Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. We do,” the report said. “Chinese authorities have also used Tiandi products, such as ‘tiger chairs’, to torture Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, according to human rights groups.”
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And increasingly, Tiandy’s repressive techniques are not limited to strengthening China’s police state. It also allows China to support strategic partners like Iran. Last year, an FDD study found that the technology company had supplied Iran’s feared cleric forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the national police and military with a number of major It was supplying social control products. Meanwhile, Iranian authorities are relying on Tiandy’s technology in their current efforts to crack down on dissent.
But Tiandy is just the tip of the iceberg. Back in 2010, Chinese tech companies like ZTE played a key role in enabling the Islamic Republic to suppress political opposition after a failed wave of protests the previous year. I was. They did this by selling the Iranian government’s surveillance technology to monitor landline, mobile and internet communications of ordinary citizens. Iran’s rulers have used the technology to “prove a coup” of their government and track down political opponents and agitators to prevent a repeat of the political turmoil that fueled the so-called Green He movement in 2009.
Since then, other Chinese tech companies have found receptive clients in Iran’s clerical elite, and business within the Islamic Republic is booming. A survey last year found that more than eight of his major Chinese tech companies, including Tiandy and the well-known Huawei, were actively contributing their expertise to building a surveillance state for Iran’s ayatollahs.
This oppressive partnership is poised to grow further. Last year, the Iranian and Chinese governments agreed to her huge 25-year strategic pact worth $300 billion. Under the agreement, China gained priority access to infrastructure projects across the Islamic Republic, first-mover advantage in Iran’s telecommunications sector, and access to key ports for its navy along the Strait of Hormuz. But China’s tech giants can also expect to benefit from this clash. Especially as Chinese surveillance technology has emerged as an important export commodity for the Chinese government.
U.S. officials are urging caution. Last week, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) sent a letter to the Biden administration flagging Tiandi’s support for the Iranian regime, accusing the company of helping to quell the current protests. I asked a sharp question about whether I should be sanctioned.
Such a step is certainly justified. China will undoubtedly have to pay for its role in thwarting Iran’s freedom cause. For a Biden administration that has so far done little more than express lukewarm support for brave Iranian protesters, targeting a key factor in Iran’s state crackdown would be an important practical step. deaf. Placing the White House on the right side of not only Iran’s fight for freedom, but China’s fight against techno-authoritarianism is also an important symbol.
Ilan Berman is senior vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author.
