For Iranian journalists, their work is a constant struggle for survival rather than merely covering the news. Many compare it to traversing a minefield, where each step could be their last, or walking with a time bomb, never knowing when it will go off.
Although the Iranian press has faced harassment for almost 200 years, attacks against the free press have intensified to unprecedented heights since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. According to a Reporters Without Borders (RSF) investigation, at least 860 journalists were detained, charged, or imprisoned between 1979 and 2009; some were even put to death. Despite these risks, Iranian journalists refuse to be silenced. They accepted the dangerous circumstances to document protests that began when Mahsa Amini died under police detention in 2022. The state response showed both speed and strength.
A Systematic Crackdown
The war on journalists has been intensified by the Iranian administration. Mohammad Mehdi Esmaeili, the Minister of Islamic Culture, recently suggested a new system for work certification that might be used to deny journalists employment. This move is the latest attempt to exert total control over the press. Veteran journalists describe their work as a form of “trench warfare”—a slow, grinding struggle against relentless state suppression. One journalist, speaking anonymously to ‘Middle East Eye’, put it plainly:
“You never know when it’s your turn to wake up in the middle of the night to the knock on your door by security forces.” Over 100 journalists have been arrested since the protests started in 2022, and most of them will serve severe prison sentences. Sports journalist Ehsan Pirbornash is among them; he received a sentence of eighteen years in prison for “blasphemy” and “propaganda against the establishment.” Award-winning photojournalist Aria Jafari received a sentence of seven years in prison, 75 lashes, and a two-year travel ban. This persecution has placed Iran near the bottom of the World Press Freedom Index, ranking 177th out of 180 countries in 2023.
Economic Warfare on Independent Media
Beyond arrests and intimidation, the Iranian government has deployed financial pressure as a tool of censorship. Earlier this year, the government removed tax exemptions for media organizations, making it even harder for independent newspapers to survive. This move comes after years of economic constraints, including the removal of paper subsidies in 2019, which forced major reformist newspapers to drastically reduce their print editions. Journalists working for critical media outlets often receive salaries below the minimum wage and face months of delayed payments. Many have left the profession altogether. A former journalist now living in Australia describes this economic strangulation as another form of censorship:
“Arresting journalists and banning newspapers give the authorities a bad reputation. What’s the better way to kill critical outlets? Economic hardship. That way, no one blames the government for the closures.”
Journalists Paying the Price
For those who continue reporting, the risks are severe. In addition to legal and financial threats, journalists are routinely fired for their social media activity. Some, like ‘Shargh’ Daily journalist Niloofar Hamedi, who first reported on Mahsa Amini’s hospitalization, have been imprisoned since September 2022. Others, like her husband Mohammad Ajorlou, have been dismissed from their jobs simply for speaking out. Many Iranian journalists now live in a state of constant fear. With security forces watching their every move, they know that a simple tweet or an article critical of the government could land them in prison or worse.
No International Protection
The release of Iranian journalists in jail has been demanded time and time again by international groups, including Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). But these requests have been ignored. Iran’s leadership declines to cooperate, in contrast to other authoritarian regimes that at least recognize outside pressure. According to Yeganeh Rezaian, a senior researcher at CPJ, “you will never receive a response from Iranian officials, no matter how many emails, faxes, or phone calls you make.” For journalists inside Iran, there is little hope of outside intervention. As one Tehran-based journalist put it:
“What can they do in response to a government whose answer to criticism is bullets and gallows? At most, they can make sure the world knows our names.”
A Struggle That Won’t End
Despite the suffocating crackdown, Iran’s journalists persist. Even as the government uses terror, economic hardship, and arrests to try to silence them, they keep exposing the truth. Iran’s press has been persecuted for almost 200 years, but it has consistently managed to fight back. Although the government has complete control over the economy, the courts, and the police, the Iranian press has not yet been completely silenced. As one journalist noted:
“They thought they had castrated us. But we’re still here. And we’re still reporting.”
