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cyberwar on Iran.
Sanctions mean Iran cannot legally obtain products from computer server manufacturers such as US-based Cisco and Dell. The country has relied heavily on the smuggling of server units via dozens of other countries in recent years in order to keep its internet industry active.
Previously, many Cisco units were shipped to order to the country via Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
In October, Iran said it was bracing itself against outside efforts at disconnecting it from the internet , Tasnim news agency reported, quoting the chief of Iran’s National Passive Defense Organization (NPDO) Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali as saying.
The Islamic Republic was slow to adopt the internet, but in recent years it has upgraded to 4 G mobile telephone services, which have boosted internet provision and e-commerce ventures . Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the country has taken measures to secure its internal networks with the so-called National Information Network (NIN) , which runs in parallel to regular internet lines.
9.1.6 Agriculture sector news
Cherries, tomatoes and bell peppers deriving from Azerbaijan and Iran have been turned away at the Yarag-Kazmalar border entry point on the Caspian Sea in the Russian federal republic Dagestan, Lezgi Gazet reported on June 27.
A flood of cheap produce from Iran is being exported around the northern and southern Caucasus partly because of the severe depreciation of the Iranian rial (IRR) in the face of US sanctions, which has markedly reduced the cost of consignments to buyers.
The Rosselkhoznadzor Office Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance in the Republic of Dagestan reportedly said both Iranian and Azerbaijani products had arrived without proper import documentation were returned to the exporters due to quarantine issues. Some 119,000 tonnes of tomatoes, 108,000 tonnes of sweet cherries and 11.73 tonnes of bell peppers were sent back over the border in one episode.
Officials claimed they had determined that some of the vegetable shipments contained oriental pinworm, Western Californian Thrips and moths.
Moscow could resume exports of wheat to Iran soon, according to a TASS report of comments made by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. Iran imports most of its wheat via the Caspian Sea. Much of it previously came from Eurasian neighbours including Russia and Kazakhstan. After 2016, Iran attempted to grow more of its own food supplies as part of its “resistance economy” effort, favoured by hardliners including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who, especially given the difficulties wrought by sanctions, wish to boost local production to lower import requirements. Officials previously showed confidence that Iran was set to become self-sufficient in grain production, but prolonged dry seasons and extended droughts have forced the Iranian government to conserve water resources, prompting those officials to think again.
Following a meeting between Iranian and Russian officials last week, Iranian Deputy Agriculture Minister Abbas Keshavarz said that it was estimated that Iran’s total wheat harvest would reach 14.5mn metric tonnes in the 2019/2020 Persian year (ends March 20, 2020).
He added that the government expected to purchase 11.5mn tonnes of wheat
38 IRAN Country Report July 2019 www.intellinews.com