U.S. government sources told Reuters and The Associated Press on Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce have blocked about three dozen websites, many of which are related to Iran’s disinformation activities.

The US government is expected to issue an official announcement later.

These websites appear to include Press TV, the English-language media of Iran’s official media, the Al Masirah satellite news channel operated by the Houthi in Yemen, and the Arabic-language channel Al-Alam of Iran’s national television.

In what appeared to be a coordinated operation, a similar message appeared on the websites of Iranian and regional television networks, claiming that the domain names of these websites had been “confiscated by the US government.” pic.twitter.com/JloU56LvpL

-News TV (@PressTV) June 22, 2021

Visiting these sites on Tuesday generated an alarm from the US government. The notice stated that these sites were blocked by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, the Office of Export Enforcement, and the FBI “as part of law enforcement operations.”

The US government has also taken over the domain name of the Palestine Today website, which reflects the views of the Gaza group Hamas And Islamic Jihad, redirect the website to the same notice.

In October last year, the US Department of Justice announced that it had closed nearly 100 websites related to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards. The United States stated that these sites operate under the guise of real news media and are launching a “global false propaganda campaign” to influence U.S. policies and promote Iranian propaganda worldwide.

This move was made a few days after the victory of Iran’s tough attorney general election. Ibrahim Raisi, Is famous for its hostility to Western countries.

Raisi’s election was seen as a blow to efforts to revive Tehran’s 2015 nuclear agreement. U.S. President Donald Trump withdraws In 2017.

Raisi took a hard line in his first press conference. He ruled out meeting US President Joe Biden or negotiating on Tehran’s ballistic missile program and supporting regional militias — the Biden administration hopes to resolve these issues in future talks.

After Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement, relations between Iran and the United States have deteriorated over the years. Nuclear agreement And reimplement Devastating U.S. sanctions.

Over time, this decision caused Iran to gradually abandon all restrictions on uranium enrichment, although it continues to negotiate with European countries trying to save the agreement.

Country now Enriched uranium Reached 60%, which is the highest level in history, but it still does not reach the level of weapons.

U.S. and EU partners participated in six rounds Informal meeting In Vienna in recent weeks. Iranian and U.S. officials did not meet face-to-face. Diplomats stated on June 20 that the negotiations had made progress and that the relevant government now makes a decision.

News TV

Press TV, launched in June 2007, may be the most famous of the blocked websites. It is an English service of the State-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation (IRIB).

There are no private television or radio stations in Iran. Although satellite antennas are common, they are also illegal. This makes IRIB monopolize the domestic radio waves.

On May 24, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vienna, Austria, the Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building where the IAEA headquarters are located [File: Lisi Niesner/Reuters]

Mazhasmi, A well-known news TV anchor who was arrested in 2019 for an important witness in an unspecified criminal case and appeared before a grand jury in Washington. She told The Associated Press that the channel is working to “find out The reason for the seizure”.

When aired in Iran, news TV focused on international affairs from the perspective of how Iranian leaders view the world.Severe criticism of Britain and the United States Israel Foreign policy is very common. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, IRIB has been in the hands of hardliners who support the Iranian government.

Supporters of Press TV believe that the editor of the site is anti-Zionist, but the media had previously clashed with Western authorities due to reports. The Anti-Defamation League criticized the channel as “one of the world’s leading English communicators of conspiracy and anti-Semitism”.