Sanctions ban Iran gamers from World of Warcraft

They've vanquished elves, trolls, and all manner of

magical monsters. But one select group of online gamers

is facing an even more formidable foe: The U.S.

sanctions regime.

Iranian players of “World of Warcraft,” the massively

popular online multiplayer franchise, have found

themselves frozen out by Blizzard Activision Inc., the

American company behind the game. Iranian role playing

enthusiasts have spent much of the past week peppering

Blizzard's message board with complaints about how they

weren't able to log on to the service — only to be

told recently that U.S. law was to blame.

“United States trade restrictions and economic sanction

laws prohibit Blizzard from doing business with

residents of certain nations, including Iran,” the

company said in an email sent to players last week and

forwarded to The Associated Press late Tuesday.

“Blizzard tightened up its procedures to ensure

compliance with these laws, and players connecting from

the affected nations are restricted from access to

Blizzard games and services.”

A post to Blizzard's message board by a company

employee also noted that rules meant Iranian players

would not be getting refunds.