Iranian authorities have tightened media controls by issuing new directives to international news organizations, requiring them to prevent Israeli media outlets from accessing their content from the country.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which supervises media operations, sent instructions to multiple international news organizations operating in Tehran, including The Associated Press. The directive mandates specific language must be added to “all submitted content, including photos, videos, reports, and other media productions.”
The ministry’s instructions, translated from Farsi, warned that “Responsibility for failing to comply with this directive rests with the submitting media outlet.”
These heightened restrictions arrive three months following attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, which escalated into an ongoing regional conflict that occasionally intensifies. On the 88th day of the conflict, President Donald Trump claimed a peace agreement was near, while Iran on Tuesday criticized recent U.S. strikes as evidence of “bad faith and unreliability.”
Under the new requirements, news organizations must include language stating their content cannot be utilized by Israeli media outlets or Farsi-language television stations operating outside Iran. For several years, Iran has prohibited international media from distributing certain materials to BBC Persian, VOA Persian, Manoto TV and Iran International, threatening to close their operations in the country for violations.
However, numerous overseas Farsi-language media organizations continue to obtain images and videos from Iranian state media through various websites and messaging applications, despite these limitations.
Freedom House, a Washington-based organization, categorizes Iran as lacking free and independent media, observing that hard-liners within the theocracy control all television channels while journalists at other outlets experience harassment and detention. Although satellite dishes are prohibited, many citizens use them to view Farsi-language programming from abroad, and internet access to external sites has been blocked for weeks.
