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terms of who is now actually serving as CEO.
The CRA wrote: “In view [of non-abidance with CRA regulations]... and due to non-compliance with the Commission's decision, this appointment is not valid in terms of regulation and their actions and decisions will not be accepted by the Regulator [the CRA].”
Rightel has suffered since the CRA in 2017 permitted mobile phone users to port their numbers to other networks in a bid to increase competitiveness.
The mobile operator—owned by Iran’s Social Security Organisation (SSO)—reportedly had a total of 1.9mn mobile internet users in 2018. However, the number of active users was not provided by the CRA in its report.
By the end of 2017, the number of Rightel customers had reached 3,947,931, according to CRA data. However, available data indicates the number of active subscribers of Rightel may be more than a couple of million below that figure.
Iran’s mobile telecom operators on June 23 blocked the Telegram and WhatsApp messaging services’ SMS and phone-call authorisation functions, London-based Manoto TV reported.
Iranian users have reportedly asked Telegram developers to allow authorisations via email as an email. The developers themselves were yet to comment on the situation, but the clampdown will effectively block all new installations and 2-step verifications, often used in Iran, to access the secure messaging platform.
Social media channels are advising users not to log out of their accounts—Telegram provides the option of obtaining an authorisation code on another device when an active session is running.
Telegram's active user base in Iran stands at approximately 40mn people. In Russia, where the founders of the service hail from, only around 10mn people are regular users of the app.
In April 2018, the​ ​Iranian government attempted to block the app​; ​however, third-party apps plugging into the system have kept many users online without the need for a virtual private network (VPN).
Iranian users of messaging services remain unconvinced by local messaging apps, fearing they are the work of their country’s intelligence organisations. Alternative local application Soroush has been ridiculed and slammed by Iranians as insecure and liable to hacking by government agencies. There have been claims it was developed by Iranian intelligence operatives.
9.2.5 ​Agriculture corporate news
Officials from Russia's Saratov Oblast have agreed to export live sheep for slaughter in Iran rather than lamb, hogget and mutton product in order to meet Islamic halal requirements, according to Business Vector. Iran in late October will enter into a temporary free trade zone drawn up with the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and various Russian exporters are wasting no time in moving to take advantage of lowered or scrapped tariffs on exports consigned to Iran by land, sea or air. Iran sits on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea while Saratov is located on the Volga river which flows into the northern side of the body of water, meaning there is a clear trade route between the Islamic Republic and the oblast that can take plenty more trade volumes.
Companies in Saratov Oblast have reportedly invested in special export boxed enclosures that will allow for live exports of sheep to Iran. Test runs are already under way.
56​ IRAN Country Report​ October 2019 www.intellinews.com