SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Attempts in the United States to access some websites owned by or linked to the Iranian government were met with this message on June 22, 2021. (Photo: screenshot)
Press Freedom Advocates Condemn 'Reckless' US Shutdown of Iranian News Sites
"These are not actions of good faith negotiators."
Jun 22, 2021
Press freedom advocates fumed Tuesday as U.S. authorities without immediate explanation reportedly blocked stateside access to numerous news websites owned by or linked to the Iranian government.
"If a country did this to U.S. media outlets it would be seen as an act of war."
--Rania Khalek, journalist
An unnamed U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that around three dozen websites were seized due to their alleged dissemination of "disinformation."
Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency tweeted that the Biden administration blocked Press TV, Al-Masirah, Al-Alam, and Al-Maalomah, calling the act "a flagrant violation of the freedom of the press."
While attempts to access Iranian government-owned outlet Press TV were met with a seizure warning from the FBI and Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, state-owned or linked sites including Pars Today, Mehr News Agency, and The Tehran Times were still accessible.
\u201cWTF??? US government SEIZES website of Iran\u2019s Press TV, and 2 other media outlets\u2014one Iranian and one belonging to the Houthis in Yemen. I thought Biden was trying to make peace with Iran??? \nhttps://t.co/MDdRW9JUDg\u201d— Medea Benjamin (@Medea Benjamin) 1624383089
The AP also reports that Yemen's Houthi rebels--who are backed by Iran--said their Al-Masirah satellite news channel went offline on Tuesday without warning, and that the group would continue "confronting the American and Israeli acts of piracy against our nation, by any means."
Anti-war and other progressive activists joined press freedom advocates in roundly condemning the U.S. move, with Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the women-led peace group CodePink, incredulously asking, "I thought [U.S. President Joe] Biden was trying to make peace with Iran?"
Journalist Rania Khalek tweeted that "if a country did this to U.S. media outlets it would be seen as an act of war."
\u201cYou are right that Iran and the Houthis and PMu have no legal recourse, which is why primary victims of the assured blowback will likely be foreign correspondents in those places.\n\nExtremely shortsighted and reckless on the part of the Biden administration.\u201d— Mohammad Ali Shabani (@Mohammad Ali Shabani) 1624390741
The U.S. censorship of Iranian news sites comes three days after the election of hardliner Ebrahim Raisi as the Islamic Republic's next president, and just two days after world powers met in a bid to jump-start nuclear talks that have been stalled ever since former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the landmark 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018.
Responding to the U.S. seizure of Iranian news sites and the recent American sale of two million barrels of Iranian crude oil seized from a tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, investigative journalist Alex Rubinstein tweeted that "these are not actions of good faith negotiators."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Press freedom advocates fumed Tuesday as U.S. authorities without immediate explanation reportedly blocked stateside access to numerous news websites owned by or linked to the Iranian government.
"If a country did this to U.S. media outlets it would be seen as an act of war."
--Rania Khalek, journalist
An unnamed U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that around three dozen websites were seized due to their alleged dissemination of "disinformation."
Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency tweeted that the Biden administration blocked Press TV, Al-Masirah, Al-Alam, and Al-Maalomah, calling the act "a flagrant violation of the freedom of the press."
While attempts to access Iranian government-owned outlet Press TV were met with a seizure warning from the FBI and Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, state-owned or linked sites including Pars Today, Mehr News Agency, and The Tehran Times were still accessible.
\u201cWTF??? US government SEIZES website of Iran\u2019s Press TV, and 2 other media outlets\u2014one Iranian and one belonging to the Houthis in Yemen. I thought Biden was trying to make peace with Iran??? \nhttps://t.co/MDdRW9JUDg\u201d— Medea Benjamin (@Medea Benjamin) 1624383089
The AP also reports that Yemen's Houthi rebels--who are backed by Iran--said their Al-Masirah satellite news channel went offline on Tuesday without warning, and that the group would continue "confronting the American and Israeli acts of piracy against our nation, by any means."
Anti-war and other progressive activists joined press freedom advocates in roundly condemning the U.S. move, with Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the women-led peace group CodePink, incredulously asking, "I thought [U.S. President Joe] Biden was trying to make peace with Iran?"
Journalist Rania Khalek tweeted that "if a country did this to U.S. media outlets it would be seen as an act of war."
\u201cYou are right that Iran and the Houthis and PMu have no legal recourse, which is why primary victims of the assured blowback will likely be foreign correspondents in those places.\n\nExtremely shortsighted and reckless on the part of the Biden administration.\u201d— Mohammad Ali Shabani (@Mohammad Ali Shabani) 1624390741
The U.S. censorship of Iranian news sites comes three days after the election of hardliner Ebrahim Raisi as the Islamic Republic's next president, and just two days after world powers met in a bid to jump-start nuclear talks that have been stalled ever since former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the landmark 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018.
Responding to the U.S. seizure of Iranian news sites and the recent American sale of two million barrels of Iranian crude oil seized from a tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, investigative journalist Alex Rubinstein tweeted that "these are not actions of good faith negotiators."
Press freedom advocates fumed Tuesday as U.S. authorities without immediate explanation reportedly blocked stateside access to numerous news websites owned by or linked to the Iranian government.
"If a country did this to U.S. media outlets it would be seen as an act of war."
--Rania Khalek, journalist
An unnamed U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that around three dozen websites were seized due to their alleged dissemination of "disinformation."
Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency tweeted that the Biden administration blocked Press TV, Al-Masirah, Al-Alam, and Al-Maalomah, calling the act "a flagrant violation of the freedom of the press."
While attempts to access Iranian government-owned outlet Press TV were met with a seizure warning from the FBI and Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, state-owned or linked sites including Pars Today, Mehr News Agency, and The Tehran Times were still accessible.
\u201cWTF??? US government SEIZES website of Iran\u2019s Press TV, and 2 other media outlets\u2014one Iranian and one belonging to the Houthis in Yemen. I thought Biden was trying to make peace with Iran??? \nhttps://t.co/MDdRW9JUDg\u201d— Medea Benjamin (@Medea Benjamin) 1624383089
The AP also reports that Yemen's Houthi rebels--who are backed by Iran--said their Al-Masirah satellite news channel went offline on Tuesday without warning, and that the group would continue "confronting the American and Israeli acts of piracy against our nation, by any means."
Anti-war and other progressive activists joined press freedom advocates in roundly condemning the U.S. move, with Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the women-led peace group CodePink, incredulously asking, "I thought [U.S. President Joe] Biden was trying to make peace with Iran?"
Journalist Rania Khalek tweeted that "if a country did this to U.S. media outlets it would be seen as an act of war."
\u201cYou are right that Iran and the Houthis and PMu have no legal recourse, which is why primary victims of the assured blowback will likely be foreign correspondents in those places.\n\nExtremely shortsighted and reckless on the part of the Biden administration.\u201d— Mohammad Ali Shabani (@Mohammad Ali Shabani) 1624390741
The U.S. censorship of Iranian news sites comes three days after the election of hardliner Ebrahim Raisi as the Islamic Republic's next president, and just two days after world powers met in a bid to jump-start nuclear talks that have been stalled ever since former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the landmark 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018.
Responding to the U.S. seizure of Iranian news sites and the recent American sale of two million barrels of Iranian crude oil seized from a tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, investigative journalist Alex Rubinstein tweeted that "these are not actions of good faith negotiators."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.