World of Warcraft has been the target of many speculative rumors recently, with many calling for the head of the giant MMORPG after the hugely successful release of Guild Wars 2, but that’s not the only problem the king of MMO’s is having at the moment.

A recent drop in subscriber numbers left World of Warcraft with a pitiful 9 million subscribers, with many screaming to the skies about the imminent death of the MMORPG. However, other more factual problems are actually hitting the game as it has now been officially banned in Iran.

Iran hasn’t exactly had the greatest of press in recent months and banning such a successful product probably isn’t going to help much. As you would expect from such a shock announcement, the forums were set ablaze almost instantly. Very few players were aware of the upcoming changes and Blizzard had little more to offer than this brief statement.

“United States trade restrictions and economic sanction laws prohibit Blizzard from doing business with residents of certain nations, including Iran. 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.”

World of Warcraft is not exactly a new MMORPG and the laws in the US haven’t suddenly changed. This has caused many players a lot of confusion and some are even speculating that it’s a direct effort from the US to constrict the Iran economy, but these are pure rumors and speculation at the moment. Stay tuned for more information on the banning of World of Warcraft in Iran.