US Blocks 36 Iranian Websites Including State Media

The US Department of Justice announced that the United States has blocked dozens of Iranian websites, a move likely to heighten tensions ahead of anticipated nuclear talks in Vienna next month. A message appeared on several state-run Iranian news sites claiming that US authorities had seized them "in a joint law enforcement action between the FBI and the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce." The Department of Justice noted in a statement on Tuesday evening that the seizures were "in response to the Iranian regime targeting the United States electoral process through attempts to sow discord among the electorate by spreading misinformation online and carrying out malign influence operations aimed at misleading American voters."