Supreme Cyber Council

Iran: Supreme Leader orders establishment of “Supreme Cyber Council” | Middle East, Israel, Arab World, Southwest Asia, Maghreb:
"Iran: Supreme Leader orders establishment of “Supreme Cyber Council” 

How Did Iran beat Cyberhetoric to the chase on the idea of a Supreme Cyber Council? 
Perhaps, Cyberhetoric can still get appointed some day or start an even more grandiose sound Cyber Council. 


The details on the securitization of religion and the Islamic revolution are somewhat interesting though. It appears that Iran perceives a matrix of multiple threats: 


An internal threat resulting from Information Overload & TMI: 

Iran is facing a “tsunami of information”, which is why it needs a concerted effort to deliver its messages and deal with the efforts made by its enemies in this field. Iran is also facing a technological progress that can be harnessed to provide more effective social and government services and improve the relationship between the administration and the public.

 And external threats from other states, most notably the U.S.:

Ruhollah Khomeini فارسی: امام خمینی (احتمالاً هنگام معرفی دولت موقت) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart, Taqipour said that Western countries, particularly the United States, use the internet for spying and spreading corruption, but that Iran has launched activities designed to manage the use of the internet and limit its abuse. The internet should serve all countries in the world, not just the West, which uses it for its economic needs and for harming other countries, the minister said (Fars, March 10).

And a hybrid threat to the integrity, security, and livelihood of the Islamic revolution, its traditions and memories and their historical archive: 

Seyyed Mehdi Khamoushi, chairman of the Islamic Propagation Organization, discussed the need for the establishment of the new council. In an article published on the Supreme Leader’s official website, Khamoushi said that Iran’s enemies consider the “soft war” and the cultural attack on Iran to be the most important struggle intended to undermine the Islamic revolution. Iran needs to protect its philosophical, religious, and cultural borders, and take advantage of cyberspace to send out its message to the world and fight against the messages sent by its enemies.

Mohammad Boroujerdi was an Iranian; one of the founders of Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution and a commander in Iran-Iraq War. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What does this break down of threats tell us about the changing nature of the ways that Cyber technologies and their development have become vital markers of:

•  a nation's status, 
• its livelihood as an imagined community, and 
• its capacity for survival, physically, and historically by participating in the archiving of itself? 

Related articles

• Iran ramps up 'cyberwar' capacity (demdigest.net)
• Iran reportedly blocking encrypted internet access on eve of Islamic revolution (theverge.com)
• Supreme Leader of Iran orders establishment of High Council for Enforcement of Code of ethics for Cyberspace (jafrianews.com)

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