U.S. eases Iran tech sales ban to support free speech

Washington, May 31 – The United States on Thursday lifted a ban on sales of communications equipment to Iranians and opened access to Internet services and social media, aiming to help the Iranian people circumvent tough government controls.

 

The decision immediately allowed U.S. companies to begin selling computers, tablets, mobile phones, software, satellite receivers and other equipment for personal use to Iranians, after such sales had been tightly restricted under sweeping sanctions on the country.

 

Also allowed were the sale and free provision of Internet communications such as instant messaging, chat, email, social networking, sharing of photos and movies, Web browsing and blogging.

 

The move came just two weeks before Iran’s national elections, with the ballot lists dominated by conservatives loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini while many challengers were blocked from running.

 

 

The move sought to ease some of the negative impact of sweeping, blunt sanctions by the U.S. and its allies aimed at forcing Iran to rein in its alleged program to develop nuclear weapons capability. And it aims at helping Iranians protect themselves from cyber-attacks by people working for Tehran to stifle dissent.

 

“Our hope is . . . this will help make some hardware and software, including things like antivirus software or software that helps protect from malware, more available to them and make them more able to protect themselves against government hackers,” a senior U.S. administration official said.

 

The move was not timed to the June 14 elections, the official said: “This is a response to their efforts to deprive their citizens of their rights. . . . The timing is really driven by the continued crackdown within Iran.”

 

The Treasury issued a general license allowing the sale of personal communications equipment and services by Americans. But a ban remained in place on selling to the Iranian government or any entity or individual specifically designated for U.S. sanctions.

 

Trita Parsi, president of the Washington-based National Iranian American Council, cheered the lifting of the ban as a move toward intelligent sanctions.

 

“We finally put an end to one of the worst examples of sanctions that hurt ordinary Iranians, undermine civil society and human rights, and empower the regime,” Parsi said in an email to supporters. “We now have an opening to address the other broad sanctions that are causing medicine shortages.”

 

“We welcome this smart move,” said Delphine Hagland, U.S. director of Reporters Without Borders. “But we have to be careful that this general license will not open the door for U.S. companies to sell filtering technology to the Iranian authorities.”

 

That was a reference to the Tehran authorities’ ability in earlier years to buy U.S. technology that allowed them to censor the Internet and spy on their citizens’ online activities.

 

The Treasury also placed sanctions on Asghar Mir-Hejazi, deputy chief of staff for the supreme leader, and on the Iranian government’s censor, the Committee to Determine Instances of Criminal Content, for “contributing to serious human rights abuses . . . including through the use of communications technology to silence and intimidate the Iranian people.”

 

In addition, the State Department announced it had placed visa restrictions on nearly 60 Iranians, mainly from the government, for their “role in the ongoing repression of students, human rights defenders, lawyers, artists” and others. AFP