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The European Union is preparing to remove ArvanCloud from its human rights sanctions list, according to sources close to European diplomats. The company was sanctioned in 2022 for its role in Iran’s online censorship.
After this move, ArvanCloud filed a complaint with the European Court of Justice and at the same time put pressure on European governments through political channels to revoke this decision.
At the same time, ArvanCloud announced the termination of its contract with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
A source close to European authorities told Iran International that ArvanCloud’s overseas backers claimed to have been instrumental in providing free internet to millions of Iranian citizens during the 2022-2023 Women, Life and Freedom protests. This statement appears to be one of the reasons why the EU decided to lift sanctions on ArvanCloud.
Iran has blocked tens of thousands of websites since 2002, and with the rise of social media, it has also begun blocking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter (X) and You Tube. Traditional media, books and films are also subject to heavy censorship from the perspective of Islamic beliefs and political content.
As of the time of publication, the EU and ArvanCloud had not responded to Iran International’s request for clarification on this information.
The EU annually reviews its list of individuals and entities responsible for human rights abuses in Iran and decides whether to extend sanctions. The results of this decision will be published in the EU’s official newspapers in a day or two.
In June 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury listed ArvanCloud as an important partner of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Islamic Republic of Iran, committed to developing national information networks and disconnecting Iranians from the global Internet. Accordingly, two ArvanCloud The company and one of its branches in the UAE were sanctioned.
A source close to EU policymakers told Iran International: “The ‘Anonymous’ hacker group previously exposed files from the servers of the Islamic Republic Internet Filtering Commission, showing that ArvanCloud blocked multiple websites at the commission’s request.”
In one case, ArvanCloud officials went beyond established orders and blocked not only a website but also the IP address of its server.
Documents published by Internet researcher Neriman Gharib in 2022 also show that Communications Minister Issa Zarepour has asked President Ebrahim Raisi to take action through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with European countries to remove ArvanCloud from the sanctions list.
In the same letter, Lacey was asked to agree that a law firm linked to the Islamic Republic’s embassy would undertake ArvanCloud’s defense at the government’s expense.
ArvanCloud controls 49% of Iran’s cloud space market and continues to host many of the Islamic Republic’s most important websites, including the Presidential Palace, the Islamic Republic News Agency, and the Ministry of Islamic Guidance.
One of the company’s information centers is located at the Payam Airport under the Ministry of Transport.
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