President Ebrahim Raeisi of Iran has vehemently censured the US Treasury Department over its latest sanctions imposed on a number of Iranian media outlets, including the English-language Press TV news network.
The Iranian president denounced Washington’s attempts to suppress truth and obstruct the public opinion’s access to the truth of matters.
President Raeisi made the remarks in an exclusive interview with political commentator and author Fareed Zakaria, the host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“Why do you in the United States impede the dissemination of truth and not let it reach peoples? Why do you slap sanctions against news agencies? Why do you enforce bans on many youth networks in different parts of the world? Why do you prevent the echo of the voice [of Iran and others] and block it from reaching other people?” Raeisi asked.
“What don’t you allow global issues to be clarified so that the peoples of the world become fully aware of circumstances and realize that the international community is not simply what the United States and certain European countries introduce?”
The Iranian president called upon American journalists to question White House authorities on restricting Iranian media outlets, and the motive behind preventing news from getting delivered to the peoples around the globe. “In my opinion, this amounts to great injustice against nations.”
On September 15, the United States imposed a new round of sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian individuals and entities over the groundless accusation of “human rights abuse” on the eve of the anniversary of Western-backed riots in the Islamic Republic. The US Department of Treasury said the bans targeted 29 individuals and entities in connection with what it claimed was “violent suppression of nationwide protests” following the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman of Kurdish descent who lost her life after she was taken to hospital due to her collapse at a police station in the capital Tehran in September 2022.
The sanctions were levied against 18 top members of Iran’s security forces, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the police as well as the head of the Iranian Prisons’ Organization. The bans were also imposed on three individuals and one company in connection with Iran’s telecoms ministry.
The Tehran-based Press TV and the two media outlets of Fars News and Tasnim and three of their senior officials were also targeted with sanctions.
