Analysis - CIRA

Jul 26 2023

AFRICAN GATEWAY: RWANDA AND CHINA’S DIGITAL SILK ROAD

By CIRA Analysis

Executive Summary: Rwanda represents a pivotal nexus for China’s strategic ambitions in Africa. While possessing limited natural resources, Rwanda’s East African location, young and growing population, and greenfield development opportunities for Chinese technology firms combine to make it an effective gateway for Chinese technological, economic,...

Jul 19 2023

IRGC’S INVOLVEMENT IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARKS BLURS LINE BETWEEN CIVILIAN, MILITARY

By CIRA Analysis, Iran

Studies of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s role in the Iranian economy often focus on its illicit activity, like smuggling, or its involvement in construction and the media. These studies overlook the IRGC’s involvement in a sector crucial for meeting the IRGC’s growing need...

May 22 2023

IRANIAN COMPANIES PROVIDE FACIAL RECOGNITION SERVICES TO GOVERNMENT AND SECURITY SERVICES

By CIRA Analysis, Iran

Journalists and human rights activists have highlighted that the Iranian government is using foreign facial recognition technology to enforce hijab laws and arrest protestors. The government has not acquired this technology from Chinese companies like Tiandy and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. alone, however– it also...

Apr 30 2023

IRAN BLOCKS ACCESS TO DOMESTIC WEBSITES, DECREASING TRANSPARENCY TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

By CIRA Analysis, Iran

While the Islamic Republic has drawn international condemnation for restricting Iranians’ access to major portions of the international internet, key government and private-sector websites have quietly been made unavailable to those outside of Iran (so-called “geo-blocking”). This development makes it more difficult for journalists, human...

Apr 21 2023

Will Iran’s Conventional Army Join the Drone Export Game in Ukraine and Beyond?

By CIRA Analysis, Iran

Coverage regarding Iran’s growing exports of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including those recently sent to Russia for use in Ukraine, have generally focused on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC, an unconventional force, is known for its support for militants and non-state actors...

Apr 11 2023

Government-Sponsored Research Centers Highlight Iranian Universities’ Military Ties, Foreign Collaboration

By CIRA Analysis, Iran

The Iranian military and security apparatus’ relationships with Iranian universities extends beyond the handful of schools sanctioned by the US and the EU for facilitating weapons development-related research. Among the hundreds of Iranian government-funded research centers within Iran’s universities, at least three have received funding...

Mar 27 2023

Iran, Kashan, 40 Dokhtaran Fortress - October 19, 2016: Green fields and agriculture inside the ancient fortress with mud walls and pyramids in the background.

“Agricultural Jihad” and Iran’s Foreign Development Program

By CIRA Analysis, Iran

While media discussions of Iran’s foreign policy tend to focus on its hard power outreach, foreign development – and soft power tools more broadly – have been an important component of the Islamic Republic’s strategy to project power and promulgate its ideology abroad. Despite foreign...

Jan 30 2023

Civil Iranian Companies Provide Access to UAV Global Supply Chain

By CIRA Analysis, Iran

Reports that an Iranian Shahed-136 loitering munition downed in Ukraine in late 2022 contained parts from more than a dozen U.S. and Western companies have spurred interest in Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturers’ mechanisms for evading U.S. sanctions and export controls. U.S. officials are...

Sep 30 2022

Iranian Company Enabling Internet Shutdown Has German Partner and Global Presence

By CIRA Analysis, Iran

As with previous waves of unrest, the Iranian government has used restrictions on internet access to combat recent protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. Critics have identified ArvanCloud – an unsanctioned cloud service provider which claims to maintain clients via a...

Aug 31 2022

NIST REPORT: A New “Great Game?”: China’s Role in International Standards for Emerging Technologies

By CIRA Analysis, China

Exovera/CIRA, in collaboration with Makwa Global, supported the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) response to their task outlined in Section 9414 of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA 2021) to conduct a study and provide recommendations with respect to the effect of...

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Providing timely, accurate analysis on key policy issues

AFRICAN GATEWAY: RWANDA AND CHINA’S DIGITAL SILK ROAD

IRGC’S INVOLVEMENT IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARKS BLURS LINE BETWEEN CIVILIAN, MILITARY

IRANIAN COMPANIES PROVIDE FACIAL RECOGNITION SERVICES TO GOVERNMENT AND SECURITY SERVICES

IRAN BLOCKS ACCESS TO DOMESTIC WEBSITES, DECREASING TRANSPARENCY TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Will Iran’s Conventional Army Join the Drone Export Game in Ukraine and Beyond?

Government-Sponsored Research Centers Highlight Iranian Universities’ Military Ties, Foreign Collaboration

“Agricultural Jihad” and Iran’s Foreign Development Program

Civil Iranian Companies Provide Access to UAV Global Supply Chain

Iranian Company Enabling Internet Shutdown Has German Partner and Global Presence

NIST REPORT: A New “Great Game?”: China’s Role in International Standards for Emerging Technologies

Exovera’s Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis (CIRA) is an in-house think tank that conducts in-depth open-source research and analysis on complex international issues to provide insights that inform national security strategy.

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