Iran has taken the first step towards criminalizsing contact with foreign media, in a move human rights groups have said attempts to “sever the entire Iranian society from the rest of the world”.
For journalists, researchers, and even ordinary citizens, the proposed law being discussed by Iranian lawmakers this month could make speaking to international audiences and groups a potential criminal act and restrict coverage of events such as January’s mass anti-regime protests.
Even social media platforms that the regime considers to be “financed” by another country, such as Instagram and X, would fall under the bill, said Moein Khazaeli, an Iranian human rights lawyer at Dadban, a legal counselling centerre for Iranian activists.
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