Iranian censorship suffocating as time presses for nuclear decision

A directive obliges the media to choose from a list of 24 'reliable and valid' news sources to write their articles. Official agencies have mentioned nothing about Khatami's trip to the US or his claim that it may be possible to suspend the nuclear program.

Teheran (AsiaNews) –Iran could include suspension of its nuclear program in negotiations with the West, former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami said yesterday in Washington. Khatami is on a visit to the United States at the invitation of the Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation of the Episcopal Church. The visit of the ex-Iranian president, which will include stops in New York, Chicago and Harvard University, is stoking controversy in the US, but so far there has been no comment from Iranian sources about Khatami's visit or his comments. This is because of new restrictions on press freedom decided by Teheran that aim to prevent the country's media from writing about it.

The daily news agency Rooz on line has reported that the Ministry of Islamic Guidance, which controls the media in Iran, issued a directive to press publications, banning them from quoting all available news sources in their reporting. The letter lists 24 'reliable and valid' sources which may be used.

This list ranges from the official media agency IRNA to the semi-official ISNA, to Miras (CHN cultural heritage news agency), IQNA Quran news agency, IPNA (sports news), YJC (Young Journalists Club), and so on. There are no international news agencies on the list.

According to the directive, Iranian news agencies are not permitted to quote or translate news items from "suspicious" news sources. The directive defines suspicious news sources to be those that "negate the achievements of the Islamic revolution, and the popular (democratic), anti-corruption and anti-imperialist spirit of the ninth government (i.e. that of president Ahmadinejad), and particularly the scientific achievements of the past year in Iran", that is, since the start of the nuclear program. The directive warns newspapers that their publications or news service would be jeopardized if they published news or reports from sources other than those on its list.

Rooz said the heightened censorship could be due to the fact that time was running out for a decision on the nuclear crisis: "The government will impose even controls and restrictions on the media in an effort to control public opinion over the issue."

Disagreement between Teheran's leaders and Khatami may explain why his comments have not found an echo back home: he has said that if threats to use force against Iran have not led to a solution, Teheran may discuss, during the course of negotiations, "suspensions, the nature of suspensions, the timing of suspensions and the durations of suspensions."

Khatami anyhow accused the United States of "unilateralism" and "double standards" because there are already three countries with nuclear arms in the region: Israel, India and Pakistan. The ex-Iranian president finally reiterated that Teheran was only seeking peaceful nuclear technology for the production of electrical energy.

Khatami's visit to the US (where he will not meet representatives of the Bush administration that contests his visit) is the first of an Iranian personality since 1979, when the US embassy in Teheran was attacked.

• iran
• nuclear
• censorship
• trip
• khatami
• usa
• suspension
• program
• negotiations