ICT Minister Vows to Block US Bid to Prohibit Iran’s Development

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology [ICT] Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi dismissed US sanctions on him, saying he will not let Washington prohibit Tehran's development.

On Friday, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added Azari Jahromi to its sanctions list that would freeze any of his property under US jurisdiction and prohibit Americans from any dealings involving those assets.

It claimed that the Iranian minister had advanced a policy of "repressive internet censorship," a reference to a nationwide shutdown during recent riots after the government decided to hike gasoline prices

In a post on his Twitter account on Friday, Azari Jahromi responded to the sanctions, saying the US had already targeted "ICT startups, Developers, Cancer patients and EB children."

He also pledged to keep advocating access to the Internet and not let the US prohibit Iran's development.