The motto for Iran’s 21st Press Exhibition, an annual event run by the administration and attended by Iranian and foreign media, was titled “Fair Criticism, Responsible Accountability.” But the theme failed to live up to its aspirations, as factional fighting and a conservative media boycott further entrenched Iran’s competing factions.
Rouhani’s opening statement at the exhibition took aim at Iran’s hard-line media and their links to the security forces of the country. “No one security officer can decide the criteria for the press,” he said Nov. 8. “It’s intolerable that in a country some media are always protected from punishment and closure and enjoy a permanent security to not only say whatever they want but sometimes act as a secret police. From some of the media you are informed of who will be arrested the next day, which [paper] will be closed and whose reputation will be ruined.”
