Ali Jannati: According to the Ministry of Culture, Mohammad Khatami is not banned from being photographed

The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran stated that the Supreme National Security Council has not issued any resolution regarding the ban on images of Mohammad Khatami, the former president, and from the perspective of this ministry, such a ban does not exist. According to ISNA news agency, Ali Jannati said on Wednesday, January 9, during a meeting with 'elites of Hormozgan province': 'The Supreme National Security Council does not have a resolution regarding Mr. Khatami's ban on images, and the actions of the judiciary are determined by this authority, and from the perspective of the Ministry of Culture and the Press Supervisory Board, such a ban does not exist.' These statements come at a time when the spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture had stated on December 26 that the ban on Khatami's images was based on a ruling from the judiciary and 'that ruling and decision have been sent to the press and media, and the press is adhering to it; anyone who acts contrary to the law will be dealt with.' Hossein Noosh Abadi emphasized: 'The Ministry of Culture operates within the framework of regulations and cannot speak beyond the law.' While officials of the eleventh government claim that the Supreme National Security Council has no resolution regarding the ban on Khatami's images, neither Hassan Rouhani, as the head of the Supreme National Security Council, nor Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of this council, have officially stated their position on this matter. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, previously announced that Mohammad Khatami is banned from being photographed based on the decision of the Tehran prosecutor's office. The issue of banning the publication of images and news about Mohammad Khatami arose in winter 2014, when reports indicated that Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran, warned media managers in a meeting against publishing images and mentioning the name of the former president of Iran, threatening offenders with suspension and closure of their media outlets. Media and hardline figures from the principlist faction refer to Mr. Khatami as one of the 'leaders of the sedition' during the protests of 2009, which were suppressed by security and law enforcement forces, resulting in dozens of deaths. Recent news about the ban on Khatami's images intensified after the newspaper Ettelaat, under the management of Mahmoud Dowayi, published an interview with the editor of the Lebanese newspaper Al-Safir with the former president of Iran along with a photo of this meeting on December 15. This action provoked the anger of hardline principlists, and as the spokesperson for the judiciary stated, the manager of the Ettelaat newspaper was summoned twice to the special court for clergy regarding this issue and was released on 'bail' after 'investigation and interrogation.' Mr. Dowayi stated that after private correspondence with the Supreme Leader regarding the coverage of news related to Mohammad Khatami, he has decided to reflect news about him 'away from noise and commotion' in the Ettelaat newspaper.