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Iran’s foreign minister talked on Clubhouse:

It is pretty well known that Iran and many other middle east countries have a tight control on social media. With this in mind people were surprised that the foreign minister Javad Zarif got on a app called Clubhouse to speak with journalists. This is a piece of audio-based political journalism. The main topic was about Iran's recent partnership with China which was deemed a controversial deal. This deal was China agreeing to invest a large sum of $400 billion dollars to Iran for an exchange of 25 years of oil. This details of this deal was kept a secret to the public until Zarif announced it on the app Clubhouse.

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It's not every day that you get high-level officials in Iran to hop on a social media app to answer questions - the state tightly controls social media there.

But on Wednesday, Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, spent hours on an app called Clubhouse, which lets users join audio-based chatrooms.

Zarif discussed everything from Iran's recent partnership with China to his bedtime routine. Iranian state media published parts of his conversation.

Roughly 8,000 people joined the discussion, the maximum number that Clubhouse allows.

Some observers say that Clubhouse has brought about a new forum for Iranians near and far to discuss politics but others worry that the government could exploit the platform for its own purposes.
Related: Iranian American composer Sahba Aminikia on the healing power of music

"You have this relatively new application, Clubhouse, and all of the sudden, people have the opportunity to be engaged in questions and answers with [Zarif], and if you were following any Persian social media, suddenly, this was blowing up."

Mahsa Alimardani, Clubhouse chatroom participant

"You have this relatively new application, Clubhouse, and all of the sudden, people have the opportunity to be engaged in questions and answers with [Zarif], and if you were following any Persian social media, suddenly, this was blowing up," said Mahsa Alimardani, one of the participants.

Alimardani, who studies Iran's political communications at Oxford University, said these types of encounters with high-level Iranian officials are rare.

"You had people from all sorts of political stripes, from in the diaspora, from inside of Iran listening, which led to this sense of novelty," she added.

It's novel because in Iran, the state filters the internet and blocks most social media apps. But here was the foreign minister showing a somewhat unvarnished side of himself. At one point, Zarif complained that it was way past his bedtime but he's willing to stay a little longer.

But Zarif had his talking points, too. He said he wanted to put an end to rumors that he is planning to run for president in the upcoming election in June.

He also wanted to respond to allegations made in a TV show that during the nuclear talks with the US, his team had been infiltrated by spies.

"These are lies," he said.
Related: White House breaks with Trump's 'maximum pressure' policy
The majority of the questions from Clubhouse participants were about a controversial new deal between Iran and China.

In a pact the two countries signed last week, China agreed to invest $400 billion in Iran for over 25 years in exchange for oil. Some Iranians are outraged that the government kept details of the deal secret.

Semblance of free speech

Clubhouse only allows the chatroom's moderators to choose who can ask a question. So, not everyone could ask a question.

Afterward, in a separate session that went on until the early hours of the morning in Tehran, the moderator admitted that the Foreign Ministry had asked him to follow its protocols though he didn't say what those were.

Still, Amir Rashidi, director of digital rights and security at Miaan Group, a New York-based organization, said Clubhouse has opened up a new space for political debate among Iranians.

"Clubhouse is actually changing the way that we talk to each other," he said. "It's changing the way that we are connecting to each other."

Rashidi, who has studied Iran's internet for the past decade, said he has been keeping an eye on who joins Clubhouse in Iran. He said in the past few months, he has noticed a rise in the number of politicians and public figures who are embracing the platform.

Even though the invite-only app runs soley on Apple devices, Rashidi said Iranians have found workarounds - like they always do.

"Iranians are usually tech savvy. If you ask my mom, 'What's the best circumvention tool?' She would definitely have at least five options for you."

Amir Rashidi, Miaan Group

"Iranians are usually tech savvy," he explained. "If you ask my mom, 'What's the best circumvention tool?' She would definitely have at least five options for you."

Circumvention tools - like virtual private networks - help users bypass internet censorship.

Both Rashidi and Alimardani are cautious about making too much of this Clubhouse phenomenon or suggesting that it could bring democracy to Iran.

"I kept on being reminded of the same media fascination there was with Trump," Alimardani said. "That actually fed into his power. Which is, you know ... you can't stop watching, it's so entertaining and the more you watch, the more you feed into this system and buy into their spectacle."
Related: Biden administration to return to Iran talks
Sina Azodi, a fellow with the Atlantic Council and scholar at George Washington University, said it's no coincidence that this event comes in the run-up to the Iranian election.

"There is a propaganda war in the West, East, and Iranian[s] are trying to use these media platforms to send their own message," he said.

Azodi added that he expects more of these seemingly impromptu appearances by politicians in Iran in the coming months.

That makes Rashidi concerned. He said as more Iranians join Clubhouse, he wishes the platform would work with local experts to make sure that the Iranian state doesn't use the app to crack down on dissent.

"They [local experts] can have a better understanding and better model to basically form their tools in a way that protects human rights, protects freedom of speech, people's privacy and security," he said.

But that might not even be necessary - Clubhouse could very well end up on the long list of social media apps that are blocked in Iran.

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Iran's foreign minister talked on Clubhouse. Was it an act of rare access or political opportunism?

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It's not every day that you get high-level officials in Iran to hop on a social media app to answer questions - the state tightly controls social media there. But on Wednesday, Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, spent hours on an app called Clubhouse, which lets users join audio-based chatrooms. Zarif discussed everything from Iran's recent partnership with China to his bedtime routine.

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Jaafari, S., & Salemi, V. (2021, April 02). Iran's foreign minister talked On Clubhouse. was it an act of rare access or POLITICAL opportunism? Retrieved April 04, 2021, from https://www.pri.org/stories/2021-04-02/iran-s-foreign-minister-talked-clubhouse-was-it-act-rare-access-or-political

Magnier, M. (2021, April 03). Alaskans hope HOSTING US-China talks helps REBUILD state's ties to Beijing. Retrieved April 04, 2021, from https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3128182/northern-exposure-alaskans-hope-hosting-us-china

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Northern exposure: Alaskans hope hosting US-China talks helps rebuild state’s ties to Beijing:

This is a piece of international political journalism from the South China Morning Post focusing on the United States and China relations. Previously China and Alaska had been on rocky terms due to the United States fears of Chinese investment. This combined with the rough meeting between US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and the top Chinese diplomat, Yang Jiechi traded many accusations such as human rights and arrogance. However, Alaska still has hope to achieve many goals with China. The major goal? To gain profitable ties between Alaska and China. Alaska hopes to gain not only tourism links but also a trade link and a buy-in. The buy-in would focus on providing a natural gas pipeline in Alaska.

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Alaskans hope hosting US-China talks helps rebuild state's ties to Beijing

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In the wake of the Anchorage summit, state officials believe the time is right to thaw out trade and tourism links with the world's second-largest economy.

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Quick look into South China Morning Post:

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Quick look into South China Morning Post:

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South China Morning Post mainly focuses on issues that deal with China and other Asian countries. Their most recent articles are about political and business issues. Such as: Huge iron ore mine in Guinea possibly cutting on China's dependence on Australia and South Korean coverage of US Anti-Asian attacks.

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Is South Korean coverage of US anti-Asian hate crime racist?

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South Korean media reports on the wave of recent attacks against Asian-Americans put far more emphasis on suspects' race than those in the US.

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While both pieces are political and anti-government they do differ from one another. The World's piece talks about Iran's deal with China but it's not the only thing talked about. That article also talks about the views on the app Clubhouse and the fears about how people can use the app. Also Zarif's bedtime routine is mentioned in the audio coverage. For the South China Morning Post the article focuses on the Alaska summit and topics that revolved around that.

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Both of these articles are about politics. Not only this but both of these articles are clearly anti-government. Both talk about how the government did things that could be deemed controversial or against the majority public opinion. Iran made a deal with China which was kept from the public. Alaska hopes to establish profitable ties with China despite the U.S. having fears of Chinese investment.

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The World has multiple audio-based articles published. The most recent ones focus on Military tension between Russia and Ukraine, the Myanmar Army and other political articles.

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The conflict between Russia and Ukraine started more than seven years ago when Russia annexed the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula. Now, the two countries are at war in eastern Ukraine.

The so-called "frozen conflict" has heated up again. Fighting is escalating in eastern Ukraine despite a ceasefire, and there have been reports of military buildup in Crimea and on the Russian side of the border. Host Carol Hills speaks with Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the commanding general of the US Army in Europe until 2017.

TRANSCRIPT:

Carol Hills:
For the past seven years, Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in what's called a 'frozen conflict.' Now it's heating up again. Fighting is escalating in eastern Ukraine despite a cease fire. There have also been reports of military buildup on the Russian side of the border. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges was the commanding general of the US Army in Europe until 2017. He's now retired and is with the Center for European Policy Analysis, and he joins us from Frankfurt, Germany.

Gen. Hodges, earlier this week, the US military's European Command raised its watch level from possible crisis to potential imminent crisis in response to Russia's deployment of additional troops near its border with Ukraine. What does that change in status mean?

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges:
Well, what it would most likely mean, and of course, some of the specific steps that would be taken would not be something I'd want to discuss in public, but the kind of things it would mean would be increased patrolling by air and naval forces, increased focus of intelligence collection on certain areas, also a heightened awareness, if you will, inside not only the US headquarters that are around Europe, but also even within the embassies to be paying attention to what's going on out there. And just also, I believe, is a test of the new Biden administration to see if the Biden administration is serious about Ukrainian sovereignty.

Carol Hills:
So in your opinion, how worried should Ukrainians and by extension, Europe be by what looks like a Russian escalation?

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges:
Well, I think the Ukrainians are worried that, frankly, Germany and France have not done enough to put pressure on the Kremlin to follow international law. And I really do believe that the Germans and the French have got to be the lead here. The Germans and the French are the ones that are involved in the formal Normandy format, which is intended to bring about a peaceful resolution of the fighting in eastern Ukraine. And they, frankly, don't seem to do a whole lot to put any pressure on the Kremlin. So Ukrainians are wondering, can they really count on European friends to help?

Carol Hills:
Now, Ukraine is not part of NATO, however, the US provides Ukraine with lethal weapons and helps train Ukrainian forces. You are part of that effort in the past. Would the US aid Ukraine if its sovereignty is threatened by Russia?

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges:
Well, that's a great question. And of course, the administration has not specified what it means when it says Ukrainian sovereignty is a priority. But I would anticipate there would be all sorts of calls for diplomatic pressure, condemnation - but something that hurts.

Carol Hills:
Can you ever imagine a situation where there would be US boots on the ground should there be a lot more escalation from Russia?

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges:
Well, of course, we do have - technically - boots on the ground out in western Ukraine at the training area in Yavoriv, near the city of Lviv - almost 200 Americans and about 150 Canadians. But I know what you really mean is actually being involved in conflict. I can imagine it, but I don't see it as likely. I think we would do everything we could first to try and support Ukrainian sovereignty short of deploying troops there. And I think that's what the Kremlin, you know, their own calculus is like, OK, how far can we go before the US really does do something, whether it's militarily or economically?

Carol Hills:
Well, I think after Russia's successful takeover of Crimea, is there a situation where anyone would really intervene on behalf of Ukraine in a direct way? I mean, that seems like this kind of awful lesson. Russia can just kind of do what it wants.

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges:
Yeah, you're exactly right. We continue, and I say 'we,' this is the collective West, not just the United States, we continue to allow ourselves to be surprised that the Russians would actually use force against a European country. And we should stop being surprised that they only respect strength. We've got to push back. That's why even though some people wet themselves when President Biden said, yes, of course, Putin's a killer, that's exactly what needs to be done. And of course, you got to back that up.

Carol Hills:
Now, my final question is, if you were on the National Security Council advising President Biden on the Ukraine crisis, what advice would you give him?

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges:
So three things. First of all, be very clear to the Kremlin that what's going on is unacceptable. You have to say things very clearly in a very public way. Number two, need to announce that we are developing a strategy for the entire Black Sea region, that it is strategically vital to the United States and to our allies and that we're going to put resources on that strategy. So to tell them, we're not just going to sit back and shake a fist at them. And then the third thing is I would advise the president that he needs to call up Chancellor Merkel and President Macron tonight and say, OK, you two have got to put pressure on Putin and get him in line.

Carol Hills:
Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges was the commanding general of the US Army in Europe until 2017. He's been speaking to us from Europe about the escalating military tension between Russia and Ukraine. Thanks a lot.

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges:
Thank you for the privilege.

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Military tension between Russia and Ukraine escalates

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The conflict between Russia and Ukraine started more than seven years ago when Russia annexed the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula. Now, the two countries are at war in eastern Ukraine. The so-called "frozen conflict" has heated up again.