Iran Security Forces Raid Independent Newspapers

In concerted attacks on independent press, Iran’s security forces on Sunday raided offices of five newspapers in Tehran and arrested at least nine journalists. The attacks came within a day after the authorities suspended the popular news site Tabnak and also arrested the political editor of the news agency ILNA.

The five newspapers whose offices were raided today are Etemad, Bahar, Sharq, Aseman and Arman. (In the photo, Sharq and Etemad are seen in the middle row).

The journalists arrested are Javad Daliri, Sasan Aghaie, Nasrin Takhiri, Motahareh Shafie, Nargues Jodaki, Emilie Emraie, Pouria Alami, Pejman Mousavi and Saba Azar-Peyk.

Tabnak is a conservative news site published by former IRGC commander and presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaie. The site has kept its independence from the hardline orthodoxy of pro-regime press.

ILNA is a semi-official news agency known for its independent reporting. Its political editor Milad Fadaie Asr was arrested on Saturday on the street by security agents and was transferred to the notorious Evin prison.

Note: The raid on independent press comes as top issues in the upcoming presidential election are getting wide coverage in the press. The authorities seem to want to eliminate all those voices and keep the likes of right-wing Kayhan and Fars News Agency to “cover” the June presidential election and the economic, political and security issues facing the country.   

WikiLeaks Documents Create Concerns Inside Iran

Iran’s conservative news website Tabnak today summarizes deep concerns developing among the country’s elite over the contents of the WikiLeaks cables. Below, we have translated into English an excerpt from today's Tabnak article. The popular Tabnak is run by former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaie.

Click here to read Tabnak’s article in Farsi.

These documents (WikiLeaks cables) show that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Jordan, and Egypt have consistently urged the US to use military option against Iran. These published documents are indications of a worrisome situation that our country will face in near future. If these documents are authentic, Iran is facing an undeclared war by its neighbors, the neighbors that want a military confrontation between the US and Iran, and see themselves as the beneficiaries of such conflict.

Vali Nasr in Iran

Vali Nasr

Photo published by Tabnak . 12 May 2009

Iran’s news website Tabnak is reporting that Vali Nasr, an Iran expert and an assistant to Richard Holbrooke, Obama’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, is visiting Tehran. Tabnak is linking Nasr’s visit to Iran to Roxana Saberi’s release from prison [Tabnak, 12 May 2009].

No independent confirmation of Nasr’s visit to Iran or his role in Saberi’s freedom were available.

Tabnak's report also indicates that Nasr's visit was arranged by Majlis speaker Ali Larijani and former Majlis speaker Haddad Adel, hinting that they obtained Ayatollah Khamenei's approval for the visit. The article also claims that President Ahmadinejad was kept in dark and was not told about the visit until after Nasr arrived in Tehran.

UPDATE: Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki confirmed Vali Nasr's visit to Tehran. Responding to a reporter's question on Nasr's visit, Mottaki said in Tehran that "Iranians anywhere in the world can visit their country." [Aftab Yazd, 14 May 2009].

UPDATE II: ISNA reports that US Department of State has denied reports that Nasr has visited Iran [14 May 2009].