US Defence Firm’s Secretive Agreement With Iran
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Details emerged this week of a secretive deal between GTT Communications Inc, a firm closely associated with the American intelligence community, and the Government of Iran.
GTT Communications, headquartered in McLean, Virginia – just minutes away from CIA headquarters – is known for its close ties to US intelligence agencies and satellite operators. The company provides support for the US Department of Defence’s internal network infrastructure, and operates in over 80 countries. Its entry and operation in this new market raises some serious questions.
Due to a regime of restrictive sanctions, The Islamic Republic of Iran has been off limits to US companies for years. Following an agreement achieved between Iran and its negotiating partners, US companies have been scrambling to enter the market in anticipation of sanctions easing and eventually lifting.
Technical data shows, however, that GTT has been providing internet to Iran for months. Dyn, a research company that monitors Internet connectivity, told The Daily Beast that GTT has been providing TIC, Iran’s state-owned telecom, since early June – a month before the negotiating parties announced an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. According to Dyn’s analysis, GTT has been supplying at least 16% of Iran’s network needs through Gulf Bridge International, a Doha-based submarine cable operator whose network extends to a variety of Persian Gulf states. One of the cables exits the sea by Bushehr, the location of one of the nuclear plants that has been the subject of intense debates during the talks.
The partnership was announced in a single tweet on 12 May, and details have been hushed since. Gulf Bridge claims the deal will not be finalised for several weeks, despite the connection being already active.
GTT Communications exploited an opening created by new rules issued by the US Treasury Department, when the latter authorised last year the sale of “consumer-grade Internet connectivity services” to Iran. GTT’s move capitalised on widespread adoption of mobile phones among Iran’s population.
Ann Rote, spokesperson for GTT, indicated no details can be released until the deal is finalised – despite the operation being evidently active for months. The company’s work, she said, was in line with “U.S. policy to facilitate the flow of information to and from Iran.”
Rote went on to say that “GTT does not conduct any business in Iran or with the Government of Iran,” and that any traffic coming from the Islamic Republic over GTT’s network is “coming indirectly from customers of wholesale or carrier partners in the Middle East region.”
Under the new Treasury rules, companies are allowed to sell services to Iran, but not to the Government of Iran or any of its state-owned companies. Technical data indicates that GTT knew, or at least should have known, that through Gulf Bridge it was providing connectivity services to Iran’s state telecom.
In light of the above, one wonders why is a US company with strong links to the US intelligence community providing internet connectivity to one of America’s greatest geopolitical adversaries, The Islamic Republic of Iran.
