Iran-linked websites seized by US Government

The US government has decided to shut down the Iranian and Iran-linked news sites. These news sites have an accusation of spreading disinformation. Also, these sites replaced on Tuesday along with a notice. The notice says that they had been seized as part of a law enforcement action. It included Iran’s Press TV. Several news websites came back to the online platforms within hours with the help of new domain addresses.

Iran is criticizing this seizure. Also, the country has warned that they are not at all constructive in the talks related to the nuclear deal. The US Department of Justice said that it had seized 33 websites that the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union uses. The three others run by the Kataib Hezbollah militia in Iraq for the violations of the US sanctions.

Various Iranian government components had been using these sites. They have the disguise as the news organizations or the media outlets to target the US. They circulate the disinformation campaigns and opt for maligning the influence operations.

The Justice Department has said that IT was the subject of the sanctions as it has the authorization power from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It has the designation of a terrorist organization.

The domain IRTVU was using has an owner from a US company. It has not yet received any of the licenses from the US Treasury’s Office of the Foreign Assets Control before using them. Kataib Hezbollah is also a US-designated terrorist organization. The websites were not at all accessible on Tuesday afternoons.

The statement related to it is, “The domain alalamtv.net has been seized by the United States Government following a seizure warrant… as part of a law enforcement action by the Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement and Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

Notices have also appeared on some of Iran’s Press TV websites. State broadcaster IRIB has accused the US of repressing freedom of expression. Also, according to it, the US Government is joining forces with Saudi Arabia to block the media that exposes the crimes of the US allies in the region.

News sites like Yemen’s rebel Al- Masirah TV, Bahraini Lualua TV are down.

“We are using all international and legal means to act accordingly, to condemn this action and to expose to the public this mistaken policy of the United States,” the director of the Iranian president’s office, Mahmoud Vaezi, told reporters on Wednesday. “It does not appear to be constructive when talks about a deal on the nuclear issue are underway.”

Credits: BBC