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- Iranian news agencies said that the US government had seized several Iranian media websites
DUBAI: The US Justice Department on Tuesday blocked some three dozen websites, many of them associated with Iranian disinformation activities, a US government source said, adding an official announcement was expected.
The source in Washington spoke after notices appeared earlier on Tuesday on a number of Iran-affiliated websites saying they had been seized by the United States government as part of law enforcement action.
Iranian news agencies said that the US government had seized several Iranian media websites and sites belonging to groups affiliated with Iran such as Yemen鈥檚 Houthi movement.
Some sites later started to display as normal.
The website of the Arabic-language Masirah TV, which is run by the Houthis, read:
鈥淭he domain almasirah.net has been seized by the United States Government in accordance with a seizure warrant ... as part of a law enforcement action by the Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement and Federal Bureau of Investigation.鈥�
The site quickly opened up a new, working website at .
Iran鈥檚 Arabic language Alalam TV said on its Telegram channel: 鈥淯S authorities shut down Al-Alam TV鈥檚 website.鈥�
A US Justice Department spokesperson had no immediate comment. Two US government sources indicated that the Justice Department was preparing an announcement on this issue.
The notices appeared days after a prominent hard-liner and fierce critic of the West, Ebrahim Raisi, was elected as Iran鈥檚 new president and after envoys for Iran and six world powers including Washington adjourned talks on reviving their tattered 2015 nuclear accord and returned to capitals for consultations.
Notices also appeared on websites of Iran鈥檚 English-language Press TV and Lualua TV, an Arabic-language Bahraini independent channel which broadcasts from Britain.
鈥淚n 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 鈥榮eized by the United States Government鈥�,鈥� Press TV said on Twitter.
Last October, US prosecutors seized a network of web domains which they said were used in a campaign by Iran鈥檚 Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to spread political disinformation around the world.
The US Justice Department said then that it had taken control of 92 domains used by the IRGC to pose as independent media outlets targeting audiences in the United States, Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The semi-official Iranian news agency YJC agency said on Tuesday the US move 鈥渄emonstrates that calls for freedom of speech are lies.鈥�