Jun 17, 2014

To demonstrate Iran’s effectiveness in combating terrorism, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said that his ministry has the ability to view all of the electronic communication of individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activities. He was careful to note that individuals' private information is not violated.

“The Intelligence Ministry will confront without reservation terrorist elements or groups that want to challenge the security of the Islamic Republic,” Alavi said. “Sometimes an individual reaches a point at which the Intelligence Ministry has no choice but to act against them.”

In regard to terrorists with links to foreign groups, Alavi said, “When they want to deny taking actions in favor of foreigners, when their emails, Gmail, conversations, texts, exchanges and chats are put in front of them, that’s when they realize nothing is hidden from the Intelligence Ministry and they have no choice but to confess.”

In the transcript provided by Iranian Students’ News Agency, the impression Alavi gave was that the online activity of individuals with suspected terrorist links is monitored before their apprehension. Otherwise, the security services would have to wait until they apprehend suspects and force to give up their passwords, to acquire the incriminating information.

Alavi also said that there were limits to how far Iran’s Intelligence Ministry would go. “The hands of the security agencies are not [so] open that they ensure security in any shape or form,” Alavi said. “Ensuring security in an Islamic system has to be in the framework of Sharia, ethics and the law.”