The Washington Post - 05.11.2019

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ RE A

In September, Jim Watkins de-

fended the site as a beacon of free

speech. Watkins was subpoenaed

by the House Homeland Security

Committee and said in prepared

statements for congressional staff

that 8chan was where “down-

home recipes are traded (and)

sorrows lifted.”

[email protected]

Drew Harwell contributed to this

report.

premacist demonstration.

“We took a clear pledge in mak-

ing the Internet a safer place for

all, and we would continue to cut

entire infrastructure for any par-

ty we identify as facilitating mass

shootings and extreme hate

speech with intolerable conse-

quences,” Maria Sirbu, an execu-

tive at Voxility, the tech firm that

blocked 8chan from the computer

servers that powered the site, said

at the time.

Suspected attackers have

sometimes posted manifestos to

8chan’s /pol/ sub-forum. On Sun-

day night, Gizmodo reported that

the sub-forum was missing from

8kun.

In August, a largely unknown

British-based provider of server

hardware booted 8chan offline.

The move also knocked off Daily

Stormer, a neo-Nazi site that de-

fied takedown efforts since the

2017 Charlottesville white-su-

Calif.; and a Walmart in El Paso. It

also has been widely condemned

for fueling the spread of such

violence. In March, as the New

Zealand gunman live-streamed

his rampage on Facebook, fewer

than 200 people watched before

the social media site took it down.

But 8chan, where the gunman

had announced his “attack

against the invaders” with a link

to the live footage, allowed the

grisly video to reach millions.

site administrator Ron Watkins —

the son of 8chan owner Jim Wat-

kins — said surging traffic com-

bined with cyberattacks caused

initial disturbance. But, he added,

“we are alive.”

8chan became known for pro-

moting online hate and extrem-

ism, including during mass shoot-

ings. This year, the platform was

used to announce deadly attacks

at mosques in Christchurch, New

Zealand; a synagogue in Poway,

BY RACHEL SIEGEL

8chan, the anonymous mes-
sage board known for propelling
white-supremacist and extremist
content, is up and running after
being knocked offline in August.
The site, rebranded as 8kun,
claims anything deemed illegal in
the United States will be removed.
Although it isn’t clear how many
of the millions of 8chan users
tried the new incarnation Sunday,

8chan, known for promoting hate, is back online and rebranded as 8kun

baseless.

In a background call with re-

porters, U.S. officials spoke with

contempt of the Iranian regime.

“Iran’s so-called democracy is a

sham,” one official said. “The pow-

er lies in the hands of the supreme

leader, Khamenei, and his shad-

ow network of corrupt appoin-

tees, who are forcibly suppressing

all opposition inside the country

and maintaining a grip on power.”

Tensions between Tehran and

Washington have been escalating

rapidly since President Trump

withdrew last year from the 2015

nuclear deal with Iran. They have

spiraled upward particularly in

recent months, as sanctions have

been reimposed and Iran has re-

acted by appearing to test Wash-

ington’s resolve. Iran has downed

a U.S. drone in the Persian Gulf,

and the administration has

blamed it for attacks on Saudi oil

facilities.

In Tehran, new anti-American

graffiti has appeared on the wall

around the former U.S. embassy,

now turned into a museum for a

paramilitary militia.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran

expert with the Foundation for

Defense of Democracies, said the

sanctions make the administra-

tion’s maximum pressure cam-

paign against Iran about some-

thing more than economics.

“These designations reveal

that Iran’s oppressive apparatus

is much more than just one man,”

he said. “It’s a constellation of

military and political officials

who faithfully carry out Khame-

nei’s orders.”

[email protected]

Pompeo expanded on his char-

acterization of Iran in a ceremony

at the State Department to com-

memorate the anniversary, an

event attended by many of the

surviving hostages, their relatives

and the families of some of the

five Americans known to be miss-

ing or imprisoned in Iran.

Pompeo demanded Iran release

them.

“Everyone involved in the Iran

hostage crisis showed the world

what they were made of,” he said,

extolling the courage of those who

held up under captivity for

15 months. “The revolutionary re-

gime showed their true malice

and evil.”

The State Department an-

nounced a $20 million addition to

a $5 million FBI reward for infor-

mation on the whereabouts of

Robert Levinson, a retired FBI

agent who vanished during a 2007

visit to Kish Island in Iran.

Levinson’s family issued a

statement pleading with the gov-

ernment in Tehran to end

hostage-taking.

“This sends a clear message

from our government of how im-

portant it is that Bob Levinson be

returned to his family and friends

who love him,” the statement said.

“All the Iranian authorities need

to do is send him home.”

Another Trump administra-

tion official called on the Iranian

government to renounce hostage-

taking and release all foreigners

unjustly imprisoned in Iran. The

Americans missing or imprisoned

there are believed to have been

accused of espionage, claims their

families and colleagues consider

tionary regime in Tehran has

proven, time and again, that its

first acts after gaining power were

a clear indication of its evil char-

acter,” said Secretary of State

Mike Pompeo in a statement.

“The regime continues to unjustly

detain Americans and to support

terrorist proxy groups like Hizbal-

lah that engage in hostage tak-

ing.”

so long ago,” said a senior admin-

istration official, referring to the

1979 student takeover of the U.S.

Embassy in which more than

50 diplomats and military guards

were held captive for 444 days.

This official, like others, spoke

on the condition of anonymity

under the Trump administra-

tion’s media guidelines.

“Forty years later, the revolu-

commander in Lebanon during

the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Ma-

rine barracks in Beirut that killed

241 service members.

“Today’s anniversary is a stark

reminder that we are dealing

with, today, the same regime that

sprung up 40 years ago; the same

regime that remains committed

to violence and hostage taking

that our diplomats encountered

BY CAROL MORELLO

On the 40th anniversary of the
U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran,
the Trump administration im-
posed new sanctions Monday on
the core inner circle of advisers to
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei and added $20 million
to a reward for information about
a former FBI agent who disap-
peared in Iran 12 years ago.
The sanctions target some of
Khamenei’s closest advisers, in-
cluding his second son, Mojtaba
Khamenei, who often represents
his father at official functions
even though he has never been
appointed to a government posi-
tion, U.S. officials said.
Others sanctioned include
Ebrahim Raisi, the newly ap-
pointed head of Iran’s judiciary,
and Mohammad Mohammadi
Golpayegani, the supreme lead-
er’s chief of staff. The list also
includes an adviser who arranged
credit lines for oil shipments to
the Syrian government, and the
head of Iran’s Armed Forces Gen-
eral Staff, the top military body in
Iran.
As if to underscore the long
history of conflict between the
United States and Iran, the Trea-
sury Department also sanctioned
Hossein Dehghan, one of Khame-
nei’s military aides, who was a

Trump imposes sanctions on top aides to Iranian leader

Officials also announce

new reward for tips on

missing former FBI agent

NAZANIN TABATABAEE/WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS

Iranian protesters hold a cutout depicting President Trump on Monday near the former U.S. embassy

in Tehran, where more than 50 U.S. diplomats and military guards were taken hostage 40 years ago.

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