


The not-for-profit organisation United Against Nuclear Iran also attacked the country’s leadership, describing the crackdown as “another prime example of the Islamic Republic’s stifling of the truth and dissent”.įemale cartoon characters must be drawn with hijabs “Iranian authorities must allow Kelid to resume operations immediately and cease any attempts to censor the media.” The Committee to Protect Journalists responded immediately to the news the government had banned the independent Kelid paper, calling on state officials to backtrack on their decision. While all radio and television stations are controlled by the state, magazines and newspapers can be run independently. Critics of the government’s handling of the recent economic downturn face frightening consequences if found to be insulting the hierarchy of power.Īccording to press advocacy groups, Iranian journalists face constant harassment and the threat of arrest for their work inside Iran. Unseen levels of inflation have damaged the country of 85 million, forcing regular families to shave back their monthly food supply. With US sanctions still in place, inflation has hit the Iranian middle class like a freight train. The official website returns a blank page and an error message when attempting to view a copy of the weekend’s front page.

The cartoon also depicted a hand (assumed to be the Ayatollah’s) drawing a red line across a box of groceries with a number of silhouettes depicting commoners attempting to reach it. The front page included an image of the Supreme Leader’s hand drawing the poverty line in the Islamic Republic. The Mehr news agency said Iran’s media supervisory body shut down the daily newspaper Kelid for its Saturday front page spread, entitled “Millions of Iranians Living under Poverty Line”. The Iranian government has moved against a media publication for publishing an unfavourable cartoon featuring the country’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
