US sanctions Iran’s information minister

The United States imposed sanctions on Iran’s information minister on Friday for his role in “widescale internet censorship,” a reference to a five-day-long nationwide shutdown meant to help stifle protests against fuel price hikes in Iran.

The internet blockage, which Iran said on Thursday it had begun to roll back, made it difficult for protesters to post videos on social media to generate support and also to obtain reliable reports on the extent of the unrest. Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi, the Iranian minister, has advanced Tehran’s policy of “repressive internet censorship” while in office, according to the US Treasury Department, which described him as a former intelligence official who has been involved in surveillance against opposition activists. “Iran’s leaders know that a free and open internet exposes their illegitimacy, so they seek to censor internet access to quell anti-regime protests,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.