foreign countries , '' Mehr reported . Such crackdowns have become commonplace in Iran since the summer , when thousands of protesters were arrested in the aftermath of Iran 's disputed president election in June . The government has been trying to limit the flow of online information and other forms of communications in Iran , according to activists and human rights officials . Amid the unrest , Iran 's judicial chief in July ordered the the prosecution of individuals `` who cooperate with satellite television programming providers , '' according to reports by reformists . Ayatollah Seyyed Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi called on local judicial heads to work with investigators to determine `` intentions , objectives and their sources of financial , political and intelligence support '' of individuals who `` operate against the system , '' according to Hamshahri , a widely circulated pro-reform publication that has been in print for more than a decade . At the time , Iranian-American Kian Tajbakhsh , an independent consultant and urban planner employed by Soros ' Open Society Institute , was among roughly 100 people accused of participating in a `` velvet revolution '' against the Islamic republic . Tajbakhsh , the
Tehran , Iran -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Iran 's Intelligence Ministry has compiled a list of 60 groups -- several based in the United States -- saying it considers them `` soft war '' agents against the country , Iranian media reported Monday . The semi-official Mehr news agency reported the following are on the list : -- U.S. philanthropist George Soros ' Open Society Institute in New York . -- The Washington-based nonprofit National Endowment for Democracy . -- The National Democratic Institute and its GOP counterpart , the International Republican Institute . -- Human Rights Watch . -- The Washington-based Brookings Institution . -- U.S. National Defense University . Media outlets BBC and Voice of America are also on the list , as are the East European Democratic Center in Poland and British nonprofit Wilton Park , among dozens of others . Iran 's deputy intelligence minister urged Iranians to avoid any `` unusual relations '' with the groups and with foreign embassies and foreign nationals . `` He stated that it is illegal to sign contracts with these organizations , and it is also against the law for groupings and political parties to receive financial assistance from