Investigators Inactivate Interdicted Inflammatory Iranian Internet Instruments

The United States on Tuesday shut down three dozen websites linked with the Iranian government and accused of disseminating disinformation and violent content, the Justice Department said. “[P]ursuant to court orders, the US seized 33 websites used by the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union (IRTVU) and three websites operated by Kataib Hizballah (KH), in violation of US sanctions,” the department said in a statement. The internet domains shuttered by Washington include Tehran’s main English-speaking satellite channel, Press TV, and its Arabic sister channel, Al Alam. Several of the sites came back online shortly after the operation, using different domain names. In October, American prosecutors closed a network of 92 sites used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps to spread political disinformation in the US, Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia. In response to Tuesday’s move, Tehran issued a statement warning that US actions were “not constructive when talks for a deal on the nuclear issue are underway.”