LEAD: Iran blocks US "virtual embassy" site

Dec 7, 2011, 16:29 GMT

Tehran - The Iranian government filtered and blocked a 'virtual embassy' of the United States in Iran on Wednesday, a day after its launch.

The iran.usembassy.gov site was open and accessible on its first day, likely because of a religious holiday in Iran, but was blocked early Wednesday after public organizations resumed work.

The state-run Fars new agency said the move was a 'decisive measure by the establishment to neutralize another US plot against Iran.'

The US online embassy initiative was first disclosed by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in an interview with the BBC's Farsi language channel.

In that interview, Clinton said the US planned to set up a 'virtual embassy' by the end of the year to improve Iranian understanding of the US and to advise Iranians on tourist and student visas.

Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani said shortly afterwards that the online embassy plan would fail, and accused the Jewish lobby in the US of being behind the project.

'Such efforts should not be taken seriously as they reflect solely the lack of US political awareness that such moves would merely strengthen unity in Iran,' Larijani said.

Iranians could skirt the move by using proxy software and virtual private networks (VPN) to access to over five million sites blocked by the regime.

Iran and the US have had no diplomatic ties and no embassies in each other's capitals for more than three decades. Switzerland represents the US in Tehran, while Iran is represented in Washington by Pakistan.

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