Iran says US sanctions on state media violation of Iranians' rights

TEHRAN -- A spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned Washington's sanctions on Iran's state TV the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and its affiliate network Press TV.

Nasser Kanaani said in a tweet that the sanctions on Iranian media were intended to stop Iranians from expressing their views to the rest of the world.

The sanctions continue to violate the rights of the Iranian people and attempt to give the anti-Iran networks and media leeway to continue their "malicious acts" against the Iranian nation, he added.

The "US crimes" against independent nations and governments are "endless," he noted.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on six senior employees of the IRIB.

It alleged that IRIB had broadcast "hundreds of forced confessions of Iranians, dual nationals, and international detainees in Iran."