State television quoted on Sunday Irans Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi as saying that Iranian websites would become purposeful and licensed so that individuals would be held accountable for the material they publish online.
Earlier this month, Saffar-Harandi vowed to rein in the media as part of a new crackdown on “wicked manifestations in society.
Saffar-Harandi, 53, is a close advisor to hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He is a former deputy editor in chief of ultra-conservative daily Kayhan.
He held the rank of Brigadier General in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and was once in charge of the IRGCs Southern Command. He was also the Political Bureau director of the IRGC for many years.
In October, he issued a directive ordering all female civil servants serving in his ministry and female journalists at the state newspapers and news agencies to go home by 6 p.m. to do their house chores.
In November, the IRGC general-turned-media censor announced that he was purging his ministry of officials he viewed as having failed to protect Islamic values.
