A Member of Parliament: The Jamming Signals in Shiraz Are Sent by Military and Law Enforcement Agencies

The representative of Shiraz in the Parliament confirmed reports about the problems caused by jamming signals in this city, stating that these signals are sent by military and law enforcement agencies. Ali Akbari announced on Tuesday, April 7, in an interview with ILNA news agency that several expert meetings have been held regarding the issue of jamming signals in Shiraz at Shiraz University and other sectors, but the reports examining this issue have not yet been completed. He stated that the claims of the people of Shiraz regarding the jamming signals are true and that there are also problems in receiving images and sounds from some domestic networks. According to Mr. Akbari, officials from the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) claimed in response to questions from Shiraz representatives that these problems are due to changes in the structure of television and radio networks and will continue until May. He announced that telecommunications have expressed ignorance about the sending of jamming signals, and political agencies also claim that no action has been taken in this regard, and 'it is likely that military and law enforcement agencies are responsible for these jamming signals.' Mr. Akbari's reference to military agencies could imply the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Previously, there had also been reports about jamming signals sent by this organization in various cities in Iran, including Tehran. In January of last year, some media and representatives from Shiraz in Parliament reported 'numerous headaches' and 'disruptions' in mobile phone and television networks in this city, and some websites attributed these incidents to the increased sending of jamming signals in Shiraz. Meanwhile, Masoud Rezaei, a representative from Shiraz, on January 12 of last year, called on the ministers of health and communications and information technology to explain the reason for the increase in jamming waves in Shiraz, especially in the west of the city, which, according to him, has endangered the health of the people and caused numerous headaches. A number of people in Shiraz protested against the increased sending of jamming signals in front of the governorate of Fars province on January 20 and 28 of last year. During the protest on January 20, Hadi Pajoohesh, the political-security deputy of the Fars governorate, announced to the protesters that the governor of Fars had ordered the follow-up on this issue. The representative from Shiraz also mentioned the differences in the effects of jamming signals in this city compared to other cities in Iran, stating that 'there should definitely not be a difference between cities in the country, but performances may vary.' He emphasized that according to statements from health ministry officials, jamming signals are 'problematic for people's health.' Mahmoud Vaezi, the Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology, announced on November 30, 2014, that a joint report from five ministries and government organizations regarding jamming signals had been sent to Hassan Rouhani, stating that part of the jamming signals 'is not under the supervision' of this ministry. The details of this report have not been published yet. Mr. Vaezi stated on February 1, 2017, that after his meeting with the health minister, a report regarding jamming signals was sent to the Iranian president, and since then, 'the percentage of jamming signals is at an acceptable level.' He emphasized that 'the volume of jamming signals has significantly decreased compared to the past, and now the situation is such that if we encounter jamming signals somewhere, necessary actions will be taken immediately.' The sending of jamming signals on satellites to prevent the reception of certain foreign news and non-news networks has been ongoing since 2001 and peaked in 2009 following widespread protests against the results of that year's presidential election, and it continues to this day. Since then, numerous reports regarding the side effects of jamming signals on people's health have been published in Iranian media. In this context, Reza Malekzadeh, the deputy for research at the health ministry, stated on December 23, 2016, that recent studies indicate that 'waves and jamming signals have side effects and are effective in causing cancer.' After the storm in Tehran in June 2014, the Iranian Meteorological Organization reported to Parliament that it was unable to predict this storm due to the presence of jamming signals.