“The current government of the United States has no respect for the democratic principles and values, as well as the clarity [of information] and human rights, including the freedom for all to have to use the internet,” Mousavi said in a statement on Saturday.
“A simple look at the records of the American government shows its pressures on the managers of big social media and communication companies, including Twitter, to silent the opposing voices,” the spokesman said.
“This proves the [American] government’s highly political attitude toward the free internet,” he added.
The United States imposed on Friday sanctions on Iran's Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi over the nationwide shutting down of the internet during the recent protests against fuel price hikes in the country.
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it took action against Azari Jahromi for his role in the "widescale internet censorship" in Iran.
It added that all property and interests in property of the Iranian minister that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC.
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