Instagram Bans Iran Revolutionary Guard Commanders Over US Terror Declaration

Several high-ranking commanders within the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been banned from accessing their Instagram accounts this week, a move which was the result of the Trump Administration declaring the guards a “foreign terrorist organization.”

Instagram confirmed the move, saying that they have “legal obligations” under US law and had to act because of the recent designation of the guards. Instagram is the only major Western social media service that is accessible across Iran.

Iran’s Telecommunication Minister was deeply critical of the move, saying that “when you tear out a man’s tongue, you aren’t proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”

This is the first known impact of the listing of the guards as terrorists. The US already heavily sanctions almost every aspect of Iranian society, meaning there was very limited contact with US-based companies in the first place.