Iran news in brief, May 29, 2019

Iran news in brief, May 29, 2019

Iran-Based Social Media Scheme Impersonating US Politicians Shuttered

Facebook and Twitter on Tuesday said they shuttered accounts used in an Iran-based social media campaign to sway public opinion by impersonating reporters, politicians and others.

Facebook removed 51 accounts, 36 pages and seven groups, and another three accounts from Instagram after investigating a tip from internet security firm FireEye.

Twitter told AFP that it removed a network of 2,800 inauthentic accounts originating in Iran at the beginning of May, but was not privy to the FireEye findings made public on Tuesday.

German Intelligence Says Iran Seeking to Expand Military Program to Weapons of Mass Destruction

While European powers still claim Iran's regime is in compliance with the nuclear deal, a new German intelligence report accuses the regime of seeking to build weapons of mass destruction.

Iran is a "risk country" that is "making efforts to expand its conventional arsenal of weapons with weapons of mass destruction," wrote the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution in its intelligence report.

U.S. Warns Hong Kong to Avoid Tanker in Breach of Iran Sanctions

The U.S. warned Hong Kong that it could face penalties if it does business with an oil tanker headed for the city that allegedly violated sanctions on Iran.

Washington wants to put China and the autonomous city on notice that it will aggressively and consistently enforce its Iran sanctions, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. The official said China would be informed that any entity doing business with the ship would expose it to U.S. sanctions.

US Sets up $75 Million Grant to Combat Iranian 'Disinformation' in Syria

The United States State Department has set up a $75 million grant to be spent in Syria to combat ISIS and “disinformation” carried out by the Iranian regime inside the country.

According to the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, the grant opportunity – Supporting Local Governance and Civil Society in Syria – will be given to eligible NGOs.

Iran's Morality Police Storm Private Party to Arrest 15 People

Iranian authorities have arrested 15 young men and women at a mixed-gender private party amid a crackdown on behavior deemed to be un-Islamic, the state-run Rokna news agency reported on May 22.

Attacking and breaking up parties have been quite rife in Iran with the authorities periodically launching crackdowns to discourage parties and sometimes make arrests.

Iran's Regime Appoints Former Hanging Judge as Deputy Parliament Speaker

The Iranian regime has appointed a former member of the “Death Committee”, charged with overseeing executions during the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, as the new deputy Parliament speaker.

In 1988, Abdolreza Mesri represented the Revolutionary Prosecutor in the “Death Committee” in the western province of Kermanshah and sent a large number of political prisoners to their death. 

He was also head interrogator and torturer in the early 80’s in Kermanshah.