Media-Security Activities of the IRGC Against Journalists

Ibrahim Golestan, an Iranian filmmaker and writer currently living in London, is accused of being a spy for the British government and working against the national struggles of the Iranian people in favor of Britain. This veteran spy has reportedly acquired much of his wealth through espionage for the British Intelligence Service against his own nation. According to documents left by the SAVAK, he established the Golestan Film Organization with the help of the British. This is an example of the writings being published by the Basij News Agency these days. The agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is funded from Iran's defense budget, as noted by Hesameddin Ashna, an advisor to President Hassan Rouhani. The claims made about Ibrahim Golestan are part of a larger narrative aimed at attacking the state-run newspaper Iran and the publication Andisheh Pouya. The attack on Andisheh Pouya is due to its publication of an interview with Golestan, while the attack on the Iran newspaper is because it reported on the release of the bi-monthly Andisheh Pouya. The assault on these two newspapers is framed within the Basij News Agency's narrative of exposing enemy infiltration in the country's media and the state newspaper. A few days after this article was published, Saman Safarzadeh, a member of the editorial board of Andisheh Pouya, and Afrin Chitsaz, a member of the editorial board of the Iran newspaper, were arrested alongside Eisa Saharkhiz, the former director of domestic press, and Ehsan Mazandarani, the editor-in-chief of the Farhikhtegan newspaper, as part of the recent wave of journalist arrests in Iran. The writings of the Basij News Agency, which do not provide reasons or evidence for their claims about individuals, are not limited to those like Ibrahim Golestan, who are distanced from Iran. They even include individuals who have passed away: 'The Iran newspaper, in its culture and art section, reported on the third cycle of the Iraj Afshar Research Treasure Award. This is while Iraj Afshar, a so-called Iranologist close to Baha'i circles, had collaborated closely with the Iran Studies Foundation (headed by Ashraf Pahlavi) after the revolution.' Apparently, none of the writers at the Basij News Agency are aware that the information base of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic published a text after Iraj Afshar's death in 2010, recounting a letter from Ali Khamenei praising Afshar's writings during his editorship of the Sokhan magazine. Based on these writings, the Basij News Agency has assessed the Iran newspaper, stating: 'Cultural experts believe that the cultural section of the Iran newspaper has recently deviated severely towards anti-revolutionary, Baha'i, and monarchist lines.' In the Basij News Agency, the paintings of an artist after the revolution are transformed into photos of a corrupt monarchist figure to serve as a pretext for attacking a gallery that has legally operated in Iran for 37 years. Another example of the infiltration the Basij News Agency seeks to expose: 'The state newspaper and the official organ of the government have openly supported the promotion of a photo exhibition by a corrupt, monarchist, and Baha'i element. Iran, on October 6, 2015, reported in its culture and art section about the exhibition 'The Historyless Human' at the Seyhun Gallery.' The author of this piece even did not know the difference between a painting exhibition and a photo exhibition. What was held at the Seyhun Gallery was an exhibition of paintings by Hamid Hadi-Nejad, who was born a few years before the revolution and naturally has no prior artistic work history. In the next sentence, referencing an exhibition that did not take place, the Basij News Agency attacked the Seyhun Gallery: 'The management of the Seyhun Gallery was initially with Masoumeh Seyhun (Nushin), a painter and wife of the Baha'i architect Hooshang Seyhun, which was transferred to his son Nader Seyhun after his death on May 21, 2010.' Thus, in the Basij News Agency, the paintings of an artist after the revolution are turned into photos of a corrupt monarchist figure to provide a pretext for attacking a gallery that has legally operated in Iran for 37 years. Based on the history of the Basij News Agency, now Hamid Hadi-Nejad and Nader Seyhun should be worried about when the IRGC will come after them. In another instance, Hooshang Dolatabadi and Ali Dehbashi and the Bukhara magazine have been attacked: 'The Iran newspaper, while introducing Hooshang Dolatabadi, wrote: 'On the morning of Thursday, October 8, the Ayandeh bookstore, in collaboration with the Bukhara magazine, hosted 'Hooshang Dolatabadi,' a doctor (specialist in metabolism and endocrine glands) and researcher and writer in literature, history, culture, and sociology.' Of course, this state newspaper does not mention the true nature and the individuals behind this magazine! To clarify public opinion and draw more attention from regulatory bodies to the press and prevent the increasing presence of enemies of the revolution and Islam in the press, it is necessary to mention that the 'Bukhara magazine,' under the editorship of Ali Dehbashi, covers elements associated with Ashraf Pahlavi. This magazine previously mocked the hijab, a symbol of chastity and modesty, and recently published an article by Dariush Shayegan, one of the editors of the 'Irannameh' quarterly (an organ of Ashraf Pahlavi) in the latest issue of Bukhara with the title 'My Journey in the 15th Century AD,' defending apostasy. Thus, the groundwork for issuing an apostasy ruling against Ali Dehbashi (for an accusation that previously led him to court without resulting in such a ruling) and Dariush Shayegan has been prepared. Interestingly, in all these cases, everything leads back to Ashraf Pahlavi's cultural investments. In another case regarding the Shargh newspaper, even before the first issue of a publication reaches readers, a case is opened against the Shargh newspaper and that publication based on its introduction in the Shargh newspaper: 'In its Tomorrow's Suggestions column, the Shargh newspaper, while promoting a monthly magazine edited by a supporter of the 2009 American-Israeli coup, wrote: 'The first issue of the monthly 'Tehran,' managed by Ehsan Mirabzadeh and edited by Pejman Mousavi, has been published in a different format, form, and content. In the first issue of 'Tehran,' which has a social-cultural background, pages are dedicated to the topic of children or 'absent little citizens.' In the literature section, Goli Taraghi, a renowned Iranian writer, spoke of her stories of Tehran, stating that 'Tehran concerns us.' After this introduction, the fate of the entire publication is clarified, and a case is opened against a journalist and a writer: 'It should be noted that Pejman Mousavi is one of the journalists who, by judicial order, was arrested due to his services to anti-revolutionary and hostile websites in late 2012, along with several other journalists from the chain press supporting the sedition. He has a history of collaboration with the Shargh and Etemad newspapers and also collaborated with the anti-revolutionary website Rooz Online, where many of his articles were published. Furthermore, Goli Taraghi is a supporter of the sedition and a feminist. The presence of such prominent elements in this monthly clarifies the direction that 'Tehran' will present to its audience!!!! (The number of exclamation marks is important because it indicates the severity of the crime.) While we witness the proliferation of such monthlies on newsstands, some newspapers receive warnings for criticizing the JCPOA!' What has been said about Pejman Mousavi refers back to the arrest of a group of journalists in Bahman 1391, which occurred when IRGC agents visited several newspapers and had no connection to the events of the 2009 protests. In that incident, Pejman Mousavi, who was the media secretary of the Bahar newspaper at the time, was released three weeks after his arrest. Thus, an unjustified arrest without charges has turned into a pretext for subsequent case fabrications. The claim made by the Basij News Agency regarding Mr. Mousavi's collaboration with Rooz Online is false. The Basij News Agency's assertion of collaboration with Rooz Online is based on the fact that Rooz Online published Mr. Mousavi's article from the Shargh newspaper. The IRGC disregards the legal procedures established for addressing press crimes and journalist violations, effectively placing the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in a position of accusation and blame. The list of these baseless case fabrications is extensive, and what is mentioned here only pertains to a week before the recent arrests in one of the IRGC-affiliated media. Similar actions are routinely pursued in other IRGC-affiliated media such as Fars and Tasnim news agencies. Clear evidence indicates that these fabrications are supported by security agencies and even the judiciary. A few weeks ago, Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the IRGC, defended the media activities of the IRGC, stating: 'Some media reflect part of the IRGC's viewpoints, and today's media are one of the precise tools of psychological operations, and revolutionary forces must have media, and we fight with our language, pen, and weapon.' Mr. Salami clearly refers to the role of IRGC-affiliated media as activities that are conducted within the framework of psychological operations for security activities. Perhaps this perspective explains why the IRGC media are not bound by the truthfulness or falsity of what they publish and only justify the security activities carried out by the IRGC. After this stage of creating a psychological groundwork, the arrest of journalists and the issuance of rulings (rulings that are announced by the IRGC to the media before the trial and without access to lawyers for the defendants) are also carried out by the IRGC. Thus, the IRGC disregards the legal procedures established for addressing press crimes and journalist violations, effectively placing the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in a position of accusation and blame. In such a process, the media-security activities of the IRGC lead to actions that bind the hands of the government and control public opinion through the intimidation of all. This action is taken because the IRGC, despite having dozens of major media outlets and a large team under its employment and control over state television and religious pulpits, remains unable to seize control of public opinion in Iran. Cultural and security officials of the IRGC and senior political figures who support them prefer to resort to arrests against defenseless journalists instead of pondering the question of why their extensive media efforts are ineffective in persuading the public, turning to vulnerable journalists who, in comparison to the resources at their disposal and their degree of freedom of action and speech against the IRGC's media, are like a straw against a mountain.