Washington Post: Possibility of Disclosure of Cases Against Iran by the U.S. Department of Justice

The Washington Post has reported, citing sources, that the U.S. Department of Justice may disclose several ongoing investigations regarding a number of Iranians, including in connection with the hacking of HBO's television channel. On November 19, the Washington Post reported that last month, national security prosecutors at the Department of Justice were asked to take a look at existing cases concerning Iran or Iranian citizens, with the aim of potentially making these cases public. Sources familiar with the legal processes at the Department of Justice, who spoke with the Washington Post, stated that the requests regarding the cases have been met with reactions. On one hand, there is speculation that the goal of making these cases public is to pressure the Trump administration on Congress to impose new sanctions against the Islamic Republic, and the disclosure of several criminal cases may expedite such a process. On the other hand, some judicial and law enforcement officials have expressed concern that disclosing the cases instead of remaining silent about them may jeopardize investigations or create difficulties for the arrest of suspects. The Department of Justice has not reacted to the published report. One of the cases, as reported by the Washington Post, relates to the hacking of HBO's television channel. This incident dates back several months; in July, the CEO of the network had informed employees in a letter that assessments regarding a large-scale cyberattack on the channel were underway. At that time, it was estimated that the extent of the attack on HBO was significantly larger than the attack on Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures in 2014. The U.S. has accused North Korea of the cyberattack on Sony. In the HBO cyberattack, unreleased episodes of popular series such as 'Game of Thrones' and dozens of other films and series were stolen. It was reported that among the stolen information and data, behind-the-scenes issues regarding professional competition contracts, emails of executive officials, or passwords of HBO's legal vice president were also included. At that time, it was reported that HBO had requested assistance from the FBI. HBO did not respond to the Washington Post's request for comment on the report published on November 19. In October, during the announcement of his new strategy towards Tehran, Donald Trump refrained from certifying Iran's compliance with the JCPOA and left its fate - at least for now - in the hands of Congress. Reuters reported earlier in November that a draft Senate bill regarding Iran, seen after Trump's non-certification of the JCPOA, contained 'harsh conditions' and, if approved, could facilitate the reinstatement of sanctions in various cases. Two weeks after this report, Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, after negotiating with U.S. congressional members, stated that she had received clear signs that they wanted their country to remain in the nuclear agreement with Iran, the JCPOA. However, in addition to the JCPOA issue, Washington has imposed other sanctions in various areas, including in connection with the accusation of 'supporting terrorism' or human rights violations against Iranian officials and entities. Iran has always denied the accusation of supporting terrorism. The International Atomic Energy Agency currently confirms Iran's compliance with its commitments related to the nuclear agreement. European officials who seek to preserve the JCPOA have also expressed concern about some of Tehran's other actions, including in the West Asian region.