Page 50 - IRANRptNov20

"Iran's security authorities have been trying to get control of the internet for 20 years," Rashidi reportedly said, adding: "There are also rumours that Iran is looking for help from Russia and China. If the bill is passed, Iran would be the first country where the internet is controlled by the military."
The likelihood of such a bill becoming legislation may be tied to how domestic and international politics play out in coming months, with the result of the November presidential election in the US clearly a key factor in Iran’s immediate future, given that a Joe Biden presidency would be expected to quickly call off, or at least ease, Donald Trump’s unrelenting economic war on the Islamic Republic.
Officially, all social media platforms in Iran are blocked, though not (yet) banned, DW noted. “However,” it reported, “according to a recent study by the Information and Communication Technology Ministry, more than half of Iran's 82 million inhabitants have accounts with at least one of the theoretically blocked social networks. The regime analyzes citizens' activities on social media to get a feeling for the mood as well as an overview of political activity.” Pejmanfar has told media that the military should take control of all internet activities in Iran "for the protection of citizens, like all over the world". Anonymity on the internet would be a thing of the past as the military would determine users' identities and monitor them.
9.1.7 ​Healthcare sector news
Hospital director warns 300,000 could die of coronavirus in Iran
The coronavirus (COVID-19) has so far officially killed 29,349 Iranians, including a one-day record of 279 on October 14 alone, but a hospital director has warned as many as 300,000 could die of the disease if the country is not successful in motivating its population to collective action and the outbreak persists for another 18 months. Mohammad Talebpour, director of Sina hospital, the oldest in Tehran, gave his grim forecast​ to the ​Guardian​, while adding that a third of the medical staff at his hospital had at one point contracted the coronavirus. Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi, the state-appointed head of the Iranian Medical Association, has, meanwhile, said that the medical staff in Iran are at the point of exhaustion.
October 14 also brought a record official daily number of new infections, 4,830. The data makes for dire reading but the official picture is widely doubted as not fully representing the catastrophic reality of COVID-19 in Iran, given ministerial documents previously leaked to media outlets such as the BBC.
Officials say the country is deep into its third wave of the disease and it’s the biggest yet.
In an appeal to US President Donald Trump to ease sanctions on Iran to allow for the removal of financing and other obstacles to flows of medicines and medical equipment amid the pandemic, ​The New York Times​ on October 14 ran an opinion piece headlined “Iran’s Covid-19 Death Toll is Rising. Show Mercy, Mr. Trump.” Iran has said it is short of vital drugs in the fight against the virus because of US sanctions. It says Trump is guilty of a crime against humanity.
In an attempt to force reluctant Iranians to stick to social distancing rules, including the compulsory wearing of face masks in public, President Hassan Rouhani’s government has brought in fines equivalent to up to $6.60, initially in Tehran only. The monthly minimum wage in Iran is now worth less than $60 after the collapse in the value of the rial, thus the level of the fine is significant, but the health minister, Saeed Namaki, has
50​ IRAN Country Report November 2020 www.intellinews.com