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The United States opened a virtual online embassy on Tuesday to reach out to Iranians despite the absence of official ties, vowing to break through the country's "electronic curtain".

The virtual embassy, offers US policy statements in English and Farsi, information on US visas, news from US-funded Voice of America and links to share views via social media.

In a welcome message on the website, Clinton voiced hope that the platform would provide a way for Americans and Iranians to communicate "openly and without fear".

"Because the United States and Iran do not have diplomatic relations, we have missed some important opportunities for dialogue with you, the citizens of Iran," she said in a video message.

"But today, we can use new technologies to bridge that gap and promote greater understanding between our two countries, and the peoples of each country, which is why we established this virtual embassy," she said.

US officials invested in the website in hopes that it could withstand a cyber-attack.

"We think we have the technical capability to get it back up even if it gets disrupted, and we're committed to doing everything we can to make sure the information gets through," said Wendy Sherman of State Department.

Iran on Wednesday blocked access to the virtual embassy, and one senior MP slammed it as an attempt to deceive the Iranian people.

Visitors to the website instead got a message in Farsi saying: "In accordance with computer crime laws, access to this website is not possible."

Alaeddin Borujerdi, the head of the Iranian parliamentary national security and foreign policy commission, said the new US website was a misguided attempt to make the Iranian people believe Washington wants to communicate with them.

"The opening of the virtual embassy by the US is a new deception by the Great Satan," he said, according to the parliamentary news agency.

"The Iranian nation will not be fooled by this deception," he said.

（中国日报网英语点津 Rosy 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.