Trump administration levies new sanctions on Iranians responsible for shutting off the internet

Washington Free Beacon:

The Trump administration on Friday issued new sanctions against a senior Iranian official responsible for shuttering the country's internet amid widespread protests against the hardline regime that have already resulted in many deaths.

As Iranian protesters take to the streets to challenge their government, Iranian leaders have sought to stifle the demonstrations through violence and by shutting down internet access, a tactic routinely employed by oppressive regimes seeking to stop their people from organizing.

The Trump administration said it would not stand by while Iran dashes the democratic hopes of its people. As part of that effort, new sanctions will be applied to Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, Iran's minister of information and communications technology.

"The United States stands with the people of Iran in their struggle against an oppressive regime that silences them while arresting and murdering protesters," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement issued Friday.

"While Iranian regime leaders maintain access to the internet and social media accounts for themselves and their cronies, they deprive their people of these basic tools of expression and communication," Pompeo said. "This hypocrisy simultaneously supports a corrupt religious mafia and oppresses the Iranian people. No country or company should enable the regime's censorship or human rights abuses."
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The mullahs fear the people having access to real news.  The Iranian people deserve better than the Islamic religious bigots who control the country.  There are few good jobs and people with advanced degrees have to work as shop clerks because of the lack of jobs.  They have an abundance of oil and gas yet they raise the price by 50 percent to help fund their proxy wars with their neighbors. The Iranians who left the country after the mullahs took over are the lucky ones.