AFP: An Iranian newspaper voluntarily suspended publication on Saturday after being warned by the national press watchdog for printing “false material,” the pro-reform Parlemannews.ir website reported.
TEHRAN (AFP) — An Iranian newspaper voluntarily suspended publication on Saturday after being warned by the national press watchdog for printing “false material,” the pro-reform Parlemannews.ir website reported.
Economic daily Pool (Money) was warned on Monday for publishing “false material and accusing Iranian officials,” state media had reported without elaborating.
Pool licence holder Amir Hossein Farokhmehr was quoted by Parlemannews.ir, run by the minority reformist faction of the conservative-dominated parliament, as saying that “publication is suspended for a short time until we revise our policy.”
He said that there had been some “misunderstanding” between the daily and the press watchdog over the way the newspaper operated.
“We will revise our policy, contents and liaison with government officials so we can better report on government’s economic activities,” he told the website.
Since last year the Islamic republic’s press watchdog has banned several publications, mostly reformist journals, for breaching its strict regulations.
The authorities have come down hard on the media and arrested scores of journalists since anti-government protests erupted after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election in June 2009.
His victory bitterly divided Iran’s political elite amid persistent allegations that the election had been massively rigged in his favour.
Since Ahmadinejad’s first term, the authorities have generally cracked down on the media, mostly in the reformist camp, but some conservative publications have also faced closures.
