Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Iran, April 30, 2019 – Google removed Talagram (Persian for Golden Gram – aka Telegram Gold) and Hotgram from its Play Store on April 25 for violating its terms of service, according to a variety of sources.
Talagram and Hotgram, two clients for the famous Telegram messenger app, are developed by Iranian regime owned agencies. While Tehran has banned the official Telegram app in Iran, these third-party clients (along with a multitude of others) still work and flourish in Iran, and are highly suspected of spying on Iranian social media users and filtering opposition channels.
However, that is not all. Google also flagged these applications as malware and warned users who already had installed them about the dangers of using them. According to some, Talagram and Hotgram were automatically removed from their Android devices or were blocked by their antivirus apps.
Google also blacklisted the servers of these applications to further limit and isolate these services’ malicious behavior.
Since May of last year, when the ruling theocracy in Iran banned the official Telegram app, the mullahs counted on the population migrating to these homemade alternatives that helped the Iranian Intelligence Ministry (MOIS) to easily spy on users.
Back then, there were two camps: Proponents of this approach argued that considering the widespread use of Telegram in Iran, the regime cannot completely ban the application and needs to have an Iranian alternative client that welcomes users. This way, they would have far better spying capabilities while avoiding a major backlash by the population.
Opponents of the scheme argued that the regime needs to completely abandon Telegram and create a full-blown messenger app, with the servers based in Iran.
Now that the first approach seems ripe for a major defeat, both factions are blaming the opposition.
Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and a vocal advocate of the first plan sought to blame the other camp. “Back in December 2016, we already said that all Iranian clients for Telegram lack security and we worked based on the conclusions of the national center for the cyberspace,” he wrote.
“Now, there are 127 unofficial [Telegram] clients in the country. After the removal of two of them, we have to see whether domestic and foreign opponents talk to those [clients] and to identify the sources of their budgets,” he added.
However, the faction close to Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and their broadcasting network tell a different story.
“When Telegram was filtered, all the institutions [in the country] reiterated the need to develop domestic messengers. The creation of Hotgram and Talagram inflicted a shock upon the process of user migration from Telegram to domestic messengers, which lacked the speed and quality of their foreign competition. For users, these two clients were a Telegram without filter, so there was no need to sign up for domestic messengers. And there was no doubt that domestic agencies, including the Communications Ministry and the National Center for Cyberspace, were supporting these clients,” Iranian state-run television said.
So, it appears, that contrary to Azari Jahromi’s claims, his ministry was involved in launching and supporting these Telegram clients.
“Back then, the Telecommunications Minister was quoted saying that Talagram belonged to Iran. From the first days, officials from the justice and Telecommunications Ministry said that Talagram and Hotgram need to bring their servers to Iran and gave them even an ultimatum,” Iranian official television further said.
“Has Google just recently discovered that these messengers are insecure? Of course, not. Then what’s happening?” the program further asks.
Ezzatollah Zarghami, former head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting and a member of the Higher Cyberspace Council, sees the entire debacle as a plot that prevented the mullahs’ regime from developing its own messengers.
“Telegram’s management could have removed these clients a year ago, but it didn’t! Because the new messengers [Iranian made] were supposed to be disincentivized and demotivated in the beginning. Now that they are reassured of their continuing stupidity, they’ve removed the clients from smartphones via Google! Simple as that!” he said.
