Tehran condemns blocking of media domains
https://urmedium.com/c/presstv/13648
Iran has condemned a US decision to block access to domains of Iranian news outlets.
The Foreign Ministry says the US Treasury’s decision is a stark infringement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Freedom of Expression. It says Washington’s act as silencer to alternative ideas reduces it to the major violator of the rules-based international order. The statement comes a day after the managing director of the daily IRAN reported that the US Treasury had blocked its official domain. This is not the first time Iranian news outlet domain has been confiscated by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. In February, it had blocked the domain of Iran’s Fars News Agency.
US blocking Iran media outlet stark infringement of freedom of expression : Foreign Ministry
Sunday, 26 April 2020 2:06 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 26 April 2020 2:06 PM ]
US Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) (L) talks with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during a rally with fellow Democrats before voting on H.R. 1, or the People Act, on the East Steps of the US Capitol on March 08, 2019 in Washington, DC. (AFP photo)
The file photo shows a view of the Iranian Foreign Ministry building in Tehran.
Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says a recent decision by the administration of US President Donald Trump to block the domains of Iranian news outlets is in "stark infringement" of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and freedom of expression.
In a twitter post on Sunday, the Iranian ministry "strongly" condemned the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) move as an effort to muzzle free speech.
Iran Foreign Ministry @IRIMFA_EN strongly condemns @USTreasury decision to block access to domains of Iranian news outlets which is in stark infringement of the UDHR & #FreedomOfExpression. The regime's act as silencer to alternative ideas reduces America to the major violator of the rules-based Intl. order.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/04/26/623956/media-outlets-Iran-Foreign-Ministry-Treasury-Department-
6:05 AM - Apr 26, 2020
"The [US] regime's act as silencer to alternative ideas reduces America to the major violator of the rules-based Intl. order," it added.
The tweet came a day after managing director of the Iranian state-run newspaper "Iran" said the OFAC has, in an arbitrary move, blocked and seized the official domain name of the paper.
The US Treasury Department has arbitrarily blocked and seized the domain of Iranian newspaper "Iran".
Mahdi Shafiei added that legal efforts are underway to unblock and take back the domain "iran-newspaper.com" and said the newspaper's online version will be available via "irannewspaper.ir".
The US government says "it has the right to seize any .com, .net and .org domain name because the companies that have the contracts to administer them are based on United States soil," a US Homeland Security official said in 2012.
In January 2020, the website of Iran's Fars News Agency was also blocked upon the US Treasury's order.
The news agency said that it had received an email from the server company, which explicitly said that the blockage is due to an order by the OFAC and its inclusion in the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN).
Previously, Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter targeted Iranian accounts, including those belonging to broadcasters.
In December 2019, Google blocked access to Press TV and Hispan TV's official YouTube accounts without any prior notice.
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