U.S. State Department Responds to Report of Instagram Arrests in Iran

The spokesperson for the U.S. State Department reacted to reports of arrests related to Iranian models active on the social media platform Instagram. Earlier, on May 16, a center affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that after 'identifying' 170 individuals managing modeling pages on Instagram, a 'legal case' had been opened against 29 of them, with eight arrested and the others summoned. The center did not disclose the names of those arrested. In this context, on Sunday, Iranian state television broadcast statements from Elham Arab, a well-known model on social media, in front of several Tehran prosecutor's office officials. John Kirby, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, on May 17, responded to a question regarding these events, stating that he had seen the reports published in the media. According to the Washington Examiner, Mr. Kirby said that if the reports are accurate, Washington would be 'concerned' about the situation. He stated, 'As we have said before, we support freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide.' According to the U.S. State Department spokesperson, 'If these reports are correct, it naturally raises our concern about such arrests, and we urge Iranian officials to respect their citizens' rights to express their opinions freely, both online and offline.' The Cyber Organized Crime Center, affiliated with the IRGC, while announcing the mass arrests of citizens, also stated that it had conducted 'several stages of overseas operations.' Among those identified by this center are fashion designers, makeup artists, and two institutions active in the fashion field. Iranian officials have extensively filtered social media, common messaging apps, and many websites in Iran. Many virtual activists have also been imprisoned or faced repercussions. The Supreme Leader of Iran has recently criticized contemporary lifestyles in Iran, warning about various issues from 'English language education' to the existence of 'nouveau riche kids' or 'luxury goods consumption.' The Cyber Organized Crime Center of the IRGC also claimed in its report on May 16 that Instagram operators are seeking to 'change the Iranian-Islamic lifestyle.' According to this center, a sign of such a thing is the '20% occupation of this network's space' with topics like modeling.