U.S. officials know that Tehran is using communications equipment — some perhaps acquired from American firms — to monitor and, in some cases, interfere with Iranians’ use of the Internet and mobile phones. And yet it’s proven difficult to do anything about it.
An economic sanctions bill against Iran, signed into law by President Obama last July, established a procurement ban on any entities found to have exported sensitive technology to the Islamic Republic that could be used to stifle dissent.