Tehran: In a first of its kind penalty issued by the Iranian government, the country has banned weekly newspaper, 9th Dey Weekly, managed by ultra-conservative lawmaker Hamid Rasaie for criticising its recent nuclear deal with the West. It also issued a formal warning for alleged breaches of reporting guidelines.
Iran also gave notices to the Kayhan Daily and Raja news website, both alleged to have insulted Iranian officials as well as violated orders on coverage of the deal issued by the Supreme National Security Council. Hossein Noushabadi, a culture ministry spokesman said, “If anyone was to make comments against our national interests on a subject that is tied with our national security, it should definitely be stopped.” He added that the nuclear agreement is “an important matter that was achieved under the supervision of the supreme leader... and cannot be easily criticised with unjust comments.”
The SNSC is the country's highest security committee and oversees the nuclear talks under the leadership of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.