Iranians who speak to foreign press even outside of Iran could land prison time

Iran’s parliament passed a resolution that could land Iranians in prison for speaking to foreign media outlets — even if they speak to them when outside of the country — in the Islamic Republic’s latest attempt to stifle the flow of information outside its borders.If the legislation is ultimately approved, which it is expected to be, communicating with any US news organization, foreign embassy or institution deemed hostile to the regime — even if the contact happens outside of Iran — could land Iranians in prison for up to two years.The lone exception is if the communication has been cleared by the regime’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Shargh newspaper reported.Marjan, a brave political science student at Tehran University who declined to give her full name, told CBS News that the regime is becoming more hardline under the new supreme leader.“Iran under the new leadership of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is going toward North Koreanization,” she said, referring to the authoritarian regime in North Korea under Kim Jong Un.

“I think Mojtaba is much more hard-line and closed-minded than his father, and the country will become a completely restricted and isolated country.”The impending free speech crackdown for the country’s 93 million residents comes amid a wave of reports unflattering to the regime, such as Iranians struggling to make ends meet as its war with the US nears its sixth month.Soaring inflation and unemployment has left some in the Islamic republic to reportedly start stealing food to survive or forego medical treatment to save money.  Iran already has strict laws prohibiting sending information to the US and UK government-funded VOA Farsi and BBC Farsi, as well as any exiled, foreign-backed Iranian media outlets.However, the new resolution effectively criminalizes any written or verbal contact with foreigners, especially media — and imposes stiff penalties for doing so.Morning Report delivers the latest news, video...