Iranian websites face domain disruptions linked to GoDaddy registrar holds, prompting migrations to .ir addresses. Registration records identify affected domains, but the legal basis and scope of the restrictions remain unclear.

Several Iranian websites have lost access to their international domain names following restrictions linked to US-based registrar GoDaddy, forcing affected services to redirect users to domestic .ir addresses. The disruptions, reported beginning November 7, have affected a major sports news platform, a cryptocurrency exchange, and several technology services.

Domain registration records point to registrar-level restrictions. According to a November 8 investigation by AsiaNews Iran, Verisign’s Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) records showed that varzesh3.com and tetherland.com carried the status code clientHold, with GoDaddy listed as registrar for both domains. The publication also identified a similar status for hostdl.com.

Under ICANN’s domain status definitions, clientHold instructs the registry not to activate a domain in the Domain Name System (DNS), preventing normal resolution. Unlike a registry-imposed serverHold, the clientHold designation originates with the registrar. The status establishes the technical mechanism behind the disruption but does not identify the reason it was imposed.

Affected services are moving to alternative domains. Sports news platform Varzesh3 redirected readers to varzesh3.ir, while cryptocurrency exchange Tetherland identified tetherland.ir as an alternative. According to November 9 reporting by Tasnim News Agency, AI platform Hoosha restored access through hoosha.ai and advised Iranian businesses to transfer their domains away from GoDaddy. Publishing platform Virgool also reported restrictions affecting its .io domain.

The disruptions follow an October 29 warning from AFTA, a cybersecurity center operating under Iran’s presidency, urging organizations to migrate to .ir domains because sanctions-related restrictions could interrupt access to international domain extensions.

The legal basis for the holds remains unclear. US sanctions regulations distinguish between different Internet services and categories of Iranian customers. Treasury Department guidance on Section 560.540 excludes certain domain registration services involving the Iranian government or blocked persons from its general authorization, but does not establish a blanket prohibition on domain registrations by all Iranian private businesses.

A November 10 commentary published by Zoomit raises the possibility that GoDaddy is applying restrictions more broadly than US sanctions explicitly require. Whether the affected registrations were suspended under specific legal obligations or the registrar’s own compliance policies has not been established.

No case-specific explanation from GoDaddy, Verisign, or ICANN has been identified in the available reporting. Nor has a comprehensive count of affected domains been established.

The reported holds illustrate how restrictions implemented by an individual registrar can affect domain resolution within the global DNS, even when the underlying websites remain operational. For the affected Iranian services, the immediate response has been to move users toward alternative addresses, particularly Iran’s country-code domain, .ir.