United States Seizes Domain Names Used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
t-3 writes:
The United States has seized 92 domain names that were unlawfully used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to engage in a global disinformation campaign, announced the Department of Justice.
According to the seizure documents, four of the domains purported to be genuine news outlets but were actually controlled by the IRGC and targeted the United States for the spread of Iranian propaganda to influence United States domestic and foreign policy in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and the remainder spread Iranian propaganda to other parts of the world. In addition, the seizure documents describe how all 92 domains were being used in violation of U.S. sanctions targeting both the Government of Iran and the IRGC.
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The Special Prosecutions Section and Asset Forfeiture Unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, and the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the Department of Justice's National Security Division, are prosecuting the seizure.
The domains for the websites were all owned and operated by US companies, which allowed the US government to seize them. The IRGC is a designated terrorist organization in the United States. Providing services to the government of Iran is also illegal under the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations without a certificate from the Department of the Treasury, the Justice Department said.
Foreign agents in the United States must also register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The four websites targeting US audiences did not do so, according to the department.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/11/07/seiz-n07.html
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