WASHINGTON: The Uni­ted States announced on Friday it was easing export restrictions on Iran to exp­and access to internet services, which have been cur­bed by the government amid a crackdown on protesters.

In the aftermath of a woman’s death in custody of the country’s “morality police”, Tehran moved to cut off the internet in what the US Treasury said was a bid “to prevent the world from watching its violent crackdown on peaceful protesters”.

The new US measure will allow technology companies to “expand the range of inte­rnet services available to Iranians”, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement.

“As courageous Iranians take to the streets to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, the United States is redoubling its support for the free flow of information to the Iranian people,” he said.

The US Treasury said it was taking action to allow access to software, including anti-virus and malware tools, as well as video conferencing services to support “access to fact-based information to the Iranian people”.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2022