Iran's Version of YouTube Hits the Web Iran says it has launched a video-sharing website in the latest move to create government-sanctioned alternatives to Internet powerhouses such as YouTube. The Web page of Iranian state TV says the new site - Mehr, or affection in Farsi - seeks to promote Iranian and Islamic culture and artists. It's unclear, however, how heavily the site, www.mehr.ir , will be monitored or censored. Western websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are blocked by Iranian officials, who claim Western bloggers and governments are waging a "soft war" against the Islamic Republic. Iran also says it is seeking to create its own Internet universe scrubbed of Western content, but experts in cyber-technology question whether any country can completely break away from it.