TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran ICT minister, Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi on Monday decried the United States’ sanctioning of nations as its “addiction” to embargoes. Azari-Jahromi made the remark after the US administration imposed sanctions on him on Friday under the pretext of the minister’s role in Internet shutdown in the country following days of protests […]
TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran ICT minister, Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi on Monday decried the United States’ sanctioning of nations as its “addiction” to embargoes.
Azari-Jahromi made the remark after the US administration imposed sanctions on him on Friday under the pretext of the minister’s role in Internet shutdown in the country following days of protests over fuel price hikes, according to IRNA.
He said that his ministry had no role in shutting down the telecommunications link during the unrest in the country, describing the US claims as lies.
If the US wants to expand Iranians’ access to information, “Why Iranian start-ups, businesses, and programmers have been deprived of so many requirements for their jobs in the field of technology?” he asked.
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added Azari Jahromi to its sanctions list that would freeze any of his property under US jurisdiction and prohibit Americans from any deals involving those assets.
It claimed that the Iranian minister had advanced a policy of “repressive Internet censorship,” a reference to a nationwide Internet shutdown during recent unrest after the government decided to raise gasoline prices.
In a post on his Twitter account on Friday, Azari Jahromi responded to the sanctions, saying the US had already targeted “ICT startups, Developers, Cancer patients and EB children.”
Iran ICT minister also pledged to keep advocating access to the Internet and not allow the US to prohibit Iran’s development.
- source : Iran Daily, Irannews
