The United States and tech companies are in discussions to find ways to counter online restrictions in Iran to support the free flow of fact-based information to the Iranian people, according to a senior State Department official.
“Iran’s continued violent crackdown on peaceful protesters is an affront to human rights,” US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman tweeted on Wednesday.
“I spoke with major US tech firms and urged them to utilise general licence D-2 to provide the Iranian people with additional services and communications tools.”
The licence is issued by the US Treasury and allows the sale and distribution of personal communication tools such as mobile phones, personal computing tools, and other related software and hardware to Iran without breaching US sanctions.
This updated licence ― the previous one is known as general licene D-1 ― will provide additional authorisation for the services that support the communication tools to assist ordinary Iranians.
The aim is to provide help to Iranian protesters “in resisting repressive internet censorship and surveillance tools deployed by the Iranian regime”, the Treasury said.
The tech support will include social media platforms, video conferencing as well as cloud-based services in support of such services, and tools that incorporate communication functions such as online maps, e-gaming, e-learning platforms and automated translation, it said.
Iranian rights and cyber activists say the Iranian government is relentlessly tightening internet restrictions and mobile broadband connections for censorship purposes and to make it harder for protesters at home to report to the world the continuing crackdown by government forces.
A group of 39 rights organisations called on Iran to restore internet access and on the International Telecommunication Union, of which Iran is a state party, to condemn Iran's communications shutdown.
Internet rights NGO Access Now supported the US sanctions changes.
"Now, the burden falls on US companies — the tech sector, as well as financial institutions and other transaction processors — to comply, and not overcomply,” said Access Now's general counsel Peter Micek. “Corporate overcompliance with Iran sanctions deprives vulnerable and marginalised people of the goods and services they need to stay safe and active in defence of human rights.”
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group on Wednesday updated the nationwide death toll from the protests against the regime to 201.
Iran repeatedly says, without providing evidence, that the protests are fuelled by foreign powers and enemies.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday again accused Iran's enemies of stoking "street riots".
"The actions of the enemy, such as propaganda, trying to influence minds, creating excitement, encouraging and even teaching the manufacture of incendiary devices are now completely clear," he said in statements broadcast by state media.
The protests were sparked in mid-September by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police.
She had been detained by the morality police for allegedly not adhering to the country’s strict Islamic dress code.
Asked on Wednesday in a press briefing if the US was interested in pursuing talks to revive the nuclear deal with Iran, US State Department spokesman Ned Price replied "that's not our focus right now".
More sanctions on Iran
The protests’ main slogans are "Woman, Life, Freedom" and “Death to the dictator”.
The demonstrations reportedly spread in recent days to shops, at least two key oil facilities and the two symbolic cities of Qom and Mashad, according to social media posts.
Qom and Mashad are seats of religious learning of top clerics in the Islamic republic and regime strongholds.
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Demonstrators chant slogans during the March of Solidarity for Iran in Washington. AFP -
Another group of demonstrators at the march. AFP -
A protest in support of Iranian women in Barcelona. Reuters -
Iranian citizens and locals joined in the Barcelona protest. Reuters -
People attend a demonstration in solidarity with Mahsa Amini and other Iranian women in Castello Square, Turin. EPA -
A person places a candle during the demonstration in Turin. EPA -
A protester holds a pre-Islamic Revolution Iranian flag during a demonstration in Brussels in support of the Iranians fighting for their freedom. AFP -
A protester wearing a top with a logo that reads 'No to an Islamic state" as she takes part in a rally in support of the Iranian people, in Brussels. AFP -
People wave the Shah-era Iranian flag during a protest in Paris. AFP -
A woman shows her true colours in the protest against the Iranian government, in Paris. AFP -
A woman holds a flag, as people protest against the Iranian regime outside Iran's embassy in central London. Reuters -
Supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) carry placards and wave party flags in Beirut, during a protest against the death of Ms Amini. EPA -
People demonstrate against the Iranian government outside the Houses of Parliament in London following the death of Amini. Reuters -
A mural in Paris depicts women cutting their hair to show support for Iranian protesters. AP -
People take part in a rally against the Iranian government in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday. AP -
Protesters take to the streets of Tehran. EPA -
Iranian protesters run after clashing with with police. EPA -
A protester shaves their head outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Reuters -
Iranians living in Athens hold a protest in solidarity. AFP -
People take part in a rally in The Hague. AFP -
A woman cuts her hair during a demonstration in Santiago, Chile, by feminist groups and Iranian migrants in support of Iranian women following the death of Amini. AFP -
Members of feminist groups and Iranian migrants during the protests in Santiago. AFP -
Iranian activists shout slogans during a protest against the government in Tehran, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. EPA -
A protester holds a painted portrait of Mahsa Amini in Berlin, Germany. EPA -
A protester shows red paint on her face, resembling blood splatters and bloody handprints next to the national Iranian emblem, during a rally in Berlin. EPA -
Iranian protesters shout slogan during a protest in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA -
A woman holds a sign during a protest against the Iranian government, in front of the country's embassy in Madrid, Spain. The protests were triggered by the death of a young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody. Reuters -
A woman cuts her hair during the protest in front of the Iranian embassy in Madrid. Reuters -
Israelis show their support for women in Iran as they hold up placards of Amini during a protest in Jerusalem. EPA -
Amini, 22, was arrested in Tehran on September 13, 2022, by the morality police. She fell into a coma while in police custody and was declared dead on September 16. EPA -
People walk by graffiti in support of the protests triggered by Amini's death, in Jerusalem. EPA -
A protest in Nantes, western France, after the death of Amini in Iranian police custody. AFP -
Women gather for a demonstration in Barcelona, Spain. AFP -
Demonstrators in Nantes. Amini's death has sparked a global protest movement. AFP -
Women protest outside the town hall in in Montpellier, southern France. AFP -
A woman at a protest in Catalunya Square, Barcelona. Reuters -
Campaigners and football fans protest at a Champions League match between Porto and Bayer Leverkusen at the Dragao stadium in Portugal. EPA -
People hold placards during a demonstration in solidarity with the Iranian people near the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. EPA -
An Iranian woman living in Turkey with 'Freedom' written on her forehead takes part in a protest near the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. Reuters -
In Barcelona, protesters take part in a demonstration in support of Iranian women. AFP -
A Lebanese activist takes part in a protest in Beirut, triggered by the death of Amini, 22. AP -
A Turkish protester takes off her head scarf while giving a performance in Instanbul during a protest against Iran over Amini's death. Getty -
A woman in Istanbul cuts her hair during a protest against Iran. Getty -
A Lebanese activist holds a poster depicting Amini during a protest in Beirut organised by feminist groups in support of women protesters in Iran. EPA -
Demonstrators in Los Angeles, California, hold the Iranian flag during a protest against the government in Tehran. AFP -
Demonstrators hold placards in Mexico City during a protest against Iran. Reuters -
People demonstrate in Montreal, Canada, during a protest triggered by Amini's death. AFP -
Iranian Americans participate in a rally in central Los Angeles, in solidarity with women in Iran. AP -
Demonstrators march during a protest in Los Angeles, California. AFP -
A woman with the colours of the Iranian flag painted on her face participates in a rally as thousands demonstrate in support of Iranian women in Los Angeles. EPA -
Australians protest over Amini's death in Melbourne. EPA -
Police block protesters from entering Iran's embassy in Oslo, Norway. EPA -
Demonstrators in front of the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, during a rally against Iran. EPA -
A candlelight vigil for Amini in Los Angeles. AFP -
Afghan women hold placards as they take part in a protest in front of the Iranian embassy in Kabul. AFP -
Protestors take part in a rally outside the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. AFP -
An Iranian woman shows a lock of hair she cut off during a protest outside the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. EPA -
Demonstrators outside the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. Getty -
Iranian Americans rally on Capitol Hill in Washington to show support for protesters in Iran. AFP -
Protesters on Capitol Hill hold a sign condemning the crackdown by Tehran. AFP -
German demonstrators gather in Berlin after the death of Amini in Iranian police custody. AP -
A protester cries during a rally in Berlin. Reuters -
A demonstration in Madrid, Spain. Thousands have gathered in cities across Europe to support protests in Iran. AP -
Demonstrators gather outside the Iranian embassy in Madrid. Reuters -
People take part in a protest in Lausanne, Switzerland. EPA -
Protesters hold signs featuring images of Amini during the protest in the western Swiss city. EPA -
Demonstrators in front of the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. EPA -
An activist outside the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a sign that reads 'Justice for Mahsa Amini'. AFP -
A demonstration against violence in Iran is held in Quito, Ecuador. The Iranian community in Ecuador protested outside the Iranian embassy. EPA -
Protesters at a demonstration outside the Iranian embassy in Quito, Ecuador. EPA
The protests have spread to some schools and universities, with young women marching without their headscarves and cutting their hair in solidarity with Amini.
On Wednesday, gunshots were fired as Iranian security forces confronted protesters in the central city of Asfhan, according to the IHR.
Activists say the protests are not just about the compulsory hijab but against the whole strict ideology of the Iranian regime, which has been in power since 1979.
Meanwhile, the European Union agreed on Wednesday to impose new sanctions on Iran because of the crackdown on the protests.
The bloc’s executive arm is putting forward a package of sanctions against at least 15 Iranian people and entities linked to the death of Amini.
“We must hold those accountable that are responsible for the repression of women,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech to EU ambassadors.
“I believe now is the time to sanction those responsible. The shocking violence inflicted on the Iranian people cannot stay unanswered.”
The new sanctions could be formally adopted as early as next week.
