<div dir="ltr">
<div class="entry-header"><h1 class="gmail-post-title entry-title">US seizes Iranian websites under unclear circumstances</h1>
</div>
<div class="gmail-featured-area"><div class="gmail-featured-area-inner"><img src="https://i2.wp.com/qudsnen.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/presstv.jpeg?fit=770%2C513&ssl=1" class="gmail-attachment-full gmail-size-full gmail-wp-post-image gmail-jetpack-lazy-image gmail-jetpack-lazy-image--handled" alt="" style="margin-right: 25px;" width="446" height="297"></div></div>
<div class="entry-content entry gmail-clearfix">
<p>June 23, 2021 - <a href="https://qudsnen.co/?p=26387">https://qudsnen.co/?p=26387</a></p><p>Washington (QNN)- US authorities seized about three dozen Iranian
websites on Tuesday, including state-run news outlets, under unclear
circumstances on Tuesday, the U.S. and Iran said.</p>
<p>A US official told the Associated Press that the majority of websites were linked to Iranian “disinformation” efforts. </p>
<p>The Justice Department said 33 of the seized websites were used by
the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union, which was singled out by
the U.S. government last October for what officials described as
efforts to spread disinformation and sow discord among American voters
ahead of the 2020 presidential election. </p>
<p>The U.S. says three other seized websites were operated by the Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group, Kata’ib Hezballah.</p>
<p>The website domains are owned by U.S. companies, but despite the
sanctions, neither the IRTVU nor KH obtained the required licenses from
the U.S. government before using the domain names, according to the
Justice Department.</p>
<p>The Justice Department announcement came hours after the Iranian
state-run news agency IRNA revealed the U.S. government seizures without
providing further information.</p>
<p>The takedowns come as world powers scramble to resurrect Tehran’s
tattered 2015 nuclear deal and just days after the election victory of
Iran’s hard-line judiciary chief, Ebrahim Raisi.</p>
<p>The U.S. government also took over the domain name of the news
website Palestine Today, which reflects the viewpoints of Gaza-based
groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, redirecting the site to the same notice.</p>
<p>Press TV, launched in June 2007, is the state-run Islamic Republic of
Iran Broadcasting’s English-language service. Its Iran-based website,
PressTV.ir, was not affected.</p>
<blockquote class="gmail-twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">In what seems to be a coordinated action, a
similar message appears on the websites of Iranian and regional
television networks that claims the domains of the websites have been
“seized by the United States Government.” <a href="https://t.co/JloU56LvpL">pic.twitter.com/JloU56LvpL</a></p>
<p>— Press TV (@PressTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressTV/status/1407406310824550401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Most of the domains seized appeared to be “.net,” “.com” and “.tv” domains.</p>
<p>The first two are generic top-level domains as opposed to
country-specific domains, while “.tv” is owned by the Pacific island
nation of Tuvalu but administered by the U.S. company Verisign.</p>
<p>It’s not the first time that the U.S. has seized domain names of sites it accuses of spreading disinformation.</p>
<p>Last October, the Department of Justice announced the takedown of
nearly 100 websites linked to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard. The
U.S. said the sites, operating under the guise of genuine news outlets,
were waging a “global disinformation campaign” to influence U.S. policy
and push Iranian propaganda around the world.</p></div>
</div>