TL;DR: Documents reviewed by Forbidden Stories trace NtechLab's FindFace facial recognition system from a 2019 Iranian partner to companies serving Iran's security agencies. Reporters could not verify whether FindFace was operating during the January 2026 crackdown.[1]
The Document Trail
Forbidden Stories published its investigation on March 3, 2026. The reporting was based on contracts, company records, promotional material, and interviews.[1]
An August 2019 authorization signed by NtechLab executive Alexander Minin named Rasad Intelligent Technologies as a systems-integration partner for FindFace in Iran. Rasad later merged into a company called Kama.[1]
Internal Kama documents reviewed by reporters indicated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence used the software.[1]
What NtechLab Claimed FindFace Could Do
NtechLab promotional material claimed FindFace could search a database of 500 million faces in less than a second with a 98 percent probability of identification.[1]
The same material advertised "interaction tracking," a feature designed to compile relationships around a person under surveillance. A separate 2021 Iranian agreement covered real-time identification from 200 cameras and a database of 300 million events.[1]
These are vendor claims and contract specifications, not independent tests of the system's accuracy.
The Contract Chain
- NtechLab authorized Rasad as a systems-integration partner in 2019.
- Rasad later merged into Kama.
- Kama licensed FindFace to BPO in 2020.
- A 2021 agreement covered real-time identification through 200 cameras.
- Internal Kama records indicated use by the IRGC and Ministry of Intelligence.
The documents establish a licensing and deployment chain. They do not establish that FindFace selected people for arrest or killing during the 2026 crackdown.[1]
Reported Deployment Inside Iran
Iranian authorities announced public-space facial recognition in summer 2022, including for monitoring women's clothing. In December 2023, journalist Vahid Tafrihi posted an image of a surveillance interface in Mashhad. A United Nations report later said facial recognition was reportedly installed at Amirkabir University in April 2024.[1][3]
The EU Listed NtechLab in 2023
The European Union listed NtechLab on July 20, 2023. The EU said the company supported Moscow's facial recognition system and that the system had been used to monitor and arbitrarily detain journalists, opposition activists, protesters, and people avoiding military mobilization.[2]
The documented Iranian authorization and later contracts predated that EU action. The record therefore shows technology transfer before the sanction, not proof that the 2019 agreement evaded a restriction imposed in 2023.
Its Role in the 2026 Crackdown Is Unverified
Forbidden Stories could not verify on the ground whether FindFace was operating during the January 2026 crackdown. Cybersecurity researcher Nima Fatemi told reporters he assumed it was operational because the system could work offline. The investigation presented that as an assumption, not a confirmed finding.[1]
A father identified by the pseudonym Mansur told Forbidden Stories that bank-camera footage had been used to identify his 13-year-old daughter, Hasti. He said intelligence agents pursued her and that she later suffered neurological damage.[1]
That testimony documents a family's account of camera-based identification. It does not prove that FindFace was the system involved.
Sources
Published: March 9, 2026