The United States is backing a draft resolution in the United Nations that would impose a travel ban and freeze the assets of 11 institutions and 12 individuals in Iran. How did the U.S. choose those places and people? They used Google.
According to the Washington Post, the State Department originally asked the CIA to provide names for the proposed legislation, but the CIA demurred. State then assigned a junior Foreign Service officer to build a list using the search terms “Iran” and “nuclear.”
The draft resolution is backed by France and Britain. Officials from all three countries agreed not to use names that would have to be justified with sensitive information. Instead, they used names already publicly associated with Iran’s burgeoning nuclear program.
“European officials said their governments did not rely on Google searches but came up with nearly identical lists to the one U.S. officials offered,” according to the article.
For commercial imagery of Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities, check out this post on Ogle Earth.