US relaxes sanctions on Iran to promote Internet development to coincide with protests

Sep. 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United States Department of the Treasury has authorized a series of exceptions to the sanctions in force against Iran to promote “Internet freedom” in Iran, in the midst of a wave of protests over the death of a woman detained by the Iranian Moral Police for wearing the veil wrong.

The death of Mahsa Amini has unleashed a wave of mobilizations and, given the apparent blockade of the network in Iran, Washington has wanted to have a gesture with which it wants companies that facilitate the development of the Internet to be exempt from the wide range of sanctions.

The deputy secretary of the US Treasury, Wally Adeyemo, has stressed that the Joe Biden government “redoubles its support for the free flow of information” at a time when “brave Iranians” take to the streets to protest Amini’s death. “With these changes, we help the Iranian population become better equipped to contain the government’s surveillance and censorship efforts,” he added in a statement.

In fact, the official Iranian media have echoed this Friday demonstrations in different cities, including Tehran, in which government supporters protest the social unrest that has been generated in recent days, in an apparent attempt to counterprogram mobilizations critical of the regime.

The death of Amini has triggered protests in the country that have resulted in at least 17 deaths, according to the Iranian television network Al Alam, although the non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights (IHR) has assured that at least 31 civilians have died because of the repression.