Iran Confiscates Satellite TV Dishes

Iran is cracking down on satellite dishes, possibly to curb black market sales after the Voice of America began airing a TV program featuring popular Iranian artists living in the United States.

The dishes, prohibited last year in an effort to purge Western influences, had begun to show up once more on rooftops and balconies.

About 1,300 of them have been confiscated recently, according to a police official. Demand for the receivers jumped last month when Iranians learned of the Voice of America call-in program. But the new crackdown has frozen business, according to one black-market dealer.