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Comment by killingtime74 | Hacker News Reader

Usually legal jurisdiction goes with geography. There are Exceptions (crimes against humanity, sex tourism things). If you host it outside Iran and you are outside Iran, then it’s just a theoretical crime?

extra territorial example: it may be a crime to do things/speak ill of a foreign government. If you lived there you’d get arrested. What if you did this while sitting in your bedroom overseas?

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This doesn't seem accurate. US Citizens/Residents/People who travel into the US who do many types of business with Iran can get into legal trouble. The person you are responding to is asking if that would apply here.

Ah in that situation, your trouble would be with the Iranian government when you travel back to Iran? Of course countries can generally pass laws that do anything (they can execute people no?). In western legal tradition extra territoriality is reserved for special situations. In places like Iran where the rule of law is weak it does not apply.

But then in that sense Iran can do whatever it wants once they get their hands on you, laws or not

They are saying American law prohibits it.

Sadly, that's not how American sanctions, or law in general work. They claim extraterritorial jurisdiction over the whole world, and whoever and wherever you are, you might get in trouble with them for violating their sanctions or laws. FFS they give themselves the right to invade any country that dares put their war criminals on trial.

E.g. BNP Paribas, a French bank, were fined for doing business in Iran. A Ukrainian was extradited from Poland to the US for hosting a pirate website.

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