The US has announced a series of steps to promote free speech inside Iran, which include technology and services that will facilitate personal communication in the Arab nation.
"As the Iranian government attempts to silence its people by cutting off their communication with each other and the rest of the world, the US will continue to take action to help Iranian people exercise their universal human rights, including the right to freedom of expression," State Department spokesperson, Jen Psaki, said.
She observed that the people of Iran should be able to communicate and access information without being subject to reprisals by their government.
To help facilitate the free flow of information, the US has issued a general license authorising the exportation to Iran of certain services, software, and hardware incident to personal communication, she said.
"This license allows US persons to provide Iranian people with safer, more sophisticated personal communications equipment to communicate with each other and with the outside world," she said.
This general license aims to empower the Iranian people as their government intensifies its efforts to stifle their access to information.
The US Department of Treasury has slapped sanctions against one individual and Iranian organizations which the US believes have been responsible for curbing freedom of speech of the Iranian people, Psaki said.
They include Committee to Determine Instances of Criminal Content, a government entity, and Asghar Mir-Hejazi, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Supreme Leader who has allegedly used his influence to empower elements from Iran's intelligence services in carrying out violent crackdowns.
Further, the State Department has imposed visa restrictions on nearly 60 other Iranian officials and other individuals who participated in the commission of human rights abuses related to political repression in Iran.
The individuals subject to these new US visa restrictions include ministers, military, intelligence, law enforcement officers, judiciary and prison officials and authorities from Iran's information technology sector.
