The United States has expressed concern that the Iranian regime is putting a further chill on the press environment in advance of their parliamentary elections, and that they are even trying to reach the arms of the state out to overseas Iranians who work for international press organizations.
The legislative elections in the Islamic republic is scheduled for March 2.
During a routine press briefing on Tuesday, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland condemned recent increases in repression against journalists, bloggers, and free-speech advocates in Iran.
She said the US Government is "particularly concerned and alarmed" by reports that Iranian authorities have now been harassing family members of a BBC reporter. This is actually quite a horrific story of Iranian authorities going into the apartment of the sister of a London-based BBC correspondent, forcing her to Skype with her sister, and then using the Skype opportunity to try to interrogate this BBC reporter in London, Nuland told reporters.
The United States called on Iranian security forces to cease the harassment of those seeking to exercise their universal rights, and vowed that it will stand with Iranian journalists and civil society activists in their continuing fight for the ability to express themselves freely.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.