Cybercrime News hijacks three dozen websites used for ‘Iran misinformation’

The U.S. Department of Justice and Commerce have hijacked three dozen websites, many of which are linked to Iranian disinformation activities, U.S. government sources told Reuters and The Associated Press on Tuesday.

An official announcement from the U.S. government is expected later.

It appears that the sites include Iran’s English-language media outlet Press TV, the Al Masirah satellite news channel run by Yemeni Houthi and the Al-Alam Arabic channel on Iran’s state television.

In what appears to be coordinated action, a similar message appears on the websites of Iranian and regional television networks stating that the domain of the websites has been “taken over by the United States Government”. pic.twitter.com/JloU56LvpL

– Press TV (@PressTV) June 22, 2021

A visit to the site sparked an alert from the U.S. government on Tuesday. The note says the website has been taken by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, the Office of Export Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation “as part of law enforcement actions.”

The U.S. government also took over the domain of the Palestine Today news website, which reflects the views of Gaza-based groups. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, redirecting the site to the same note.

Last October, the Department of Justice announced that it had launched nearly 100 websites linked to the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The U.S. has said the sites, in the guise of real news outlets, are conducting a “global disinformation campaign” to influence U.S. policy and promote Iranian propaganda around the world.

The move came just days after Iran won a tough judicial justice election. Ibrahim Raisi, known for its hostility to western countries.

Raisi’s election is seen as a blow to efforts to revive the fragmented nuclear deal in Tehran in 2015 US President Donald Trump retired In 2017.

Raisi took a tough stance in his first press conference. He ruled out opportunities to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden or negotiate with Tehran’s ballistic missile program and support regional militias. This is a concern that the Biden administration wants to address in future talks.

Relations between Iran and the US have deteriorated over the years since Trump backed down nuclear deal and reorganization Destructive US sanctions.

This decision has allowed Iran to remove all uranium enrichment restrictions over time, even as it continues to negotiate with European nations seeking to restore the agreement.

The country is now to enrich uranium up to 60 percent, the highest level ever, though it still doesn’t have a weapon level.

US and EU partners have participated in six rounds informal lectures Vienna in recent weeks. Iranian and U.S. officials have not met face to face. Diplomats said on June 20 that talks had progressed and that a decision was in the hands of the governments involved.

Press the TV

Press TV launched in June 2007 is perhaps the most popular of the sites seized. It is the English service of the Islamic Republic of Ireland (IRIB).

There is no private television or radio in Iran. Satellite dishes, although widespread, are illegal. This leaves IRIB with a monopoly on domestic waves.

The Iranian flag stands in front of the UN Office Building, the headquarters of the IAEA, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in Vienna, Austria, on May 24, 2021. [File: Lisi Niesner/Reuters]

Marzieh HashemiA prominent television news pioneer who was arrested as witness material in an unspecified criminal case in 2019 and appeared before a grand jury in Washington, he told The Associated Press that the channel was struggling to find “reasons” for the kidnapping. .

While broadcasting in Iran, Press TV focuses primarily on international affairs to find out how Iranian leaders view the world. Great Britain, the US and Israeli foreign policy is common. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the IRIB has been in the hands of hardliners who support the Iranian government.

Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. The Anti-Defamation League has criticized the chain for being “one of the world’s leading distributors of conspiratorial English anti-Semitism.”