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US seizes Iranian news sites under unclear circumstances

The US seized roughly three dozen websites, the majority of which are linked to Iranian disinformation efforts.

Dubai Published on: June 23, 2021 6:38 IST
US Iran tension
Image Source : AP (FILE)

US President Joe Biden

American authorities took down a range of Iran's state-linked news websites under unclear circumstances on Tuesday, the US and Iran said, a move that appeared to be a far-reaching crackdown on Iranian media amid heightened tensions between the two countries.

The US seized roughly three dozen websites, the majority of which are linked to Iranian disinformation efforts, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case had not yet been officially announced by the American government.

Iranian state-run news agency IRNA announced the U.S. government seizures of the websites, without providing further information.





It said the websites were seized “as part of law enforcement action” by the U.S.Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The U.S.government also took over the domain name of the news website Palestine Today, which reflects the view points of Gaza-based Islamic militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, redirecting the site to the same takedown notice.

Yemen's Houthi rebel group announced that its Al-Masirah satellite news channel went offline without prior notice.


Press TV, launched in June 2007, is the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting's English-language service. There are no private television or radio stations in Iran. Satellite dishes, while widespread, also are illegal. That leaves IRIB with a monopoly on domestic airwaves.

Marzieh Hashemi, a prominent Press TV anchorwoman who, in 2019, was arrested as material witness in an unspecified criminal case and has appeared before a grand jury in Washington, told The Associated Press that the channel was struggling to “figure out the reasons” for the seizure.



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