Motahari: I Have Not Seen Evidence of Western Spies' Influence in the Country's Media

Ali Motahari, a representative from Tehran in the parliament, responded to a warning from 12 members of the 'Proud Front' regarding the 'influence of several hundred Western spies' in newspapers and media, stating that 'in the view of these individuals, reformists are counter-revolutionaries and infidels.' According to the state news agency IRNA, Mr. Motahari emphasized on Tuesday, September 31, that he has not seen any evidence of 'the influence of several hundred spies in the country's media and I do not feel concerned about this.' A day before Mr. Motahari's comments, 12 representatives from the 'Proud Front' in parliament had warned the ministers of culture and intelligence to address the 'influence of several hundred Western spies' in newspapers and media. These 12, who are opponents of Hassan Rouhani's government and former supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, claimed that British and Western intelligence services direct this movement in 'chain newspapers and virtual media' and 'impose and operationalize their positions on them.' In response to this claim, Mr. Motahari stressed that 'some principlists consider reformists their enemies and 'in general, in the view of these individuals, reformists are counter-revolutionaries and infidels.' He called this view 'wrong' and added: 'When these individuals have such a view, they will certainly judge in this way, and their perspective on reformists must change.' Mr. Motahari also responded to a question about the publication of 'unsubstantiated and highly aggressive' statements against Hassan Rouhani's government, stating that 'unfortunately, a kind of vendetta has become prevalent, which is not a good state at all.' Hours after the warning from these 12 parliament members, the Twitter account of Mashregh News reported the arrest of 12 journalists and editors of reformist media, but this tweet was deleted a few hours later. The request of these representatives to deal with journalists and virtual media comes as the date for the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections on March 7 approaches. A few months before the 2013 presidential elections, between January 27 and February 13, 2014, 18 journalists were arrested and released after several days. Currently, several journalists, including Alireza Rajai, Sarajeddin Mirdamadi, Saeed Rezavi Faqih, Jason Rezaian, Khosrow Kordpour, and Masoud Kordpour, are imprisoned. Alireza Rajai, who was arrested and imprisoned after the protests following the 2009 presidential elections, is still in prison. While Jason Rezaian's judicial status remains unclear, Sarajeddin Mirdamadi has been sentenced to three years, Khosrow Kordpour to six years, and Masoud Kordpour to three and a half years in prison. Meanwhile, the Kaleme website, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, reported on Sunday, September 29, that Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, sentenced Saeed Rezavi Faqih to another three and a half years in prison. According to this website, Mr. Rezavi Faqih's one-year prison sentence ended five months ago.