DUBAI: Iran’s atomic energy organisation said that an e-mail server belonging to one of its subsidiaries had been hacked from a foreign country and information published online, state media reported on Sunday.

An Iranian hacking group, Black Reward, said in a statement published on Twitter that it had released hacked information relating to Iranian nuclear activities, declaring the action an act of support for protesters in Iran.

The Islamic republic has been gripped by demonstrations triggered by the death of the 22-year-old Amini on Sept 16 after her arrest for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

Classes suspended after clashes at Tehran varsity

Their statement, published on Saturday, ended with the words “In the name of Mahsa Amini and for women, life, freedom” — a show of support for protests ignited by her death in the custody of morality police last month.

Black Reward said the information released included “management and operational schedules of different parts of Bushehr power plant”, passports and visas of Iranian and Russian specialists working there, and “atomic development contracts and agreements with domestic and foreign partners”.

The atomic energy organisation’s general department of public diplomacy and information played down the significance of the released information, saying “this move was made with the aim of attracting public attention”.

Talks between world powers and Iran aimed at reviving its 2015 nuclear deal are at a standstill, with the United States saying on Oct 12 that Tehran had shown little interest in reviving the pact.

Meanwhile, classes at Tehran’s prestigious Sharif University of Technology were suspended and moved online earlier this month following clashes between protesting students and security forces.

Tasnim news agency reported that when classes resumed on Saturday, “a number of female students entered the men’s dining hall after removing their hijab”, breaching Iran’s rules on gender segregation in some public spaces and mandatory headscarves for women.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2022