Publication of Photo and Interview with Khatami in Etemad Newspaper Despite Ban

Despite judicial authorities' emphasis on the media ban on Mohammad Khatami, former President of Iran, Etemad newspaper published an interview with Khatami along with a photo of the meeting on Sunday, December 6. According to Etemad, Talal Salman, the editor-in-chief of the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir, who traveled to Iran for interviews with officials of the Islamic Republic, had an 'unscheduled' conversation with Khatami. As of Sunday evening, December 6 (the time of this report), judicial authorities had not shown a clear reaction to this action by Etemad. However, the page containing Khatami's image and interview was removed from the Etemad website on Sunday evening, replaced by page 12 of the December 7 edition of Etemad. The published image of the meeting included Mahmoud Dowai, representative of Ayatollah Khamenei and managing director of Etemad. Meanwhile, the Tasnim news agency, which is said to be close to security institutions, attacked Mahmoud Dowai on Sunday, stating that he 'supports an active element in the 2009 sedition' with the resources of Etemad. Tasnim accused Dowai of deliberately publishing materials related to Khatami and violating the judiciary's order. This conservative news agency wrote that Dowai is 'behind the main celebrations for his longtime friend (Khatami), most of which are held at Etemad and funded by this newspaper.' The issue of the ban on publishing Khatami's image and news arose in winter 2014. Reports indicated that Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran, warned media managers in a meeting against publishing Khatami's image and name, threatening to suspend and shut down media outlets that violated this order. Meanwhile, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the Expediency Council of Iran, in an interview with the Jomhouri Islami newspaper, implicitly referred to this issue, stating that Mahmoud Dowai, managing director of Etemad, protested this order and threatened judicial officials that newspapers that did not comply would be shut down. Regarding Khatami's media ban, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, spokesperson for the judiciary, initially announced that this was done by a resolution of the Supreme National Security Council, but after this claim was denied by officials of Hassan Rouhani's government, he stated that the former president was banned by a judicial order. Previously, some reformist groups and also Ali Motahari, a conservative member of parliament, protested Khatami's media ban, calling it 'illegal.' On Sunday, Motahari stated in a speech that he had asked the Tehran prosecutor about this issue but had received no response. He emphasized that this judicial order should not be 'given effect.' In March 2015, after the death of Khatami's sister, condolences from Hassan Rouhani and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani addressed to him were published in the media, including the state news agency. However, on March 7, 2015, the 'Jamaran' website, the official site of the Institute for the Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works, along with the 'Baharnama' website, was shut down by the judiciary due to the publication of images of Khatami and was unblocked a day later after these images were removed. Khatami's media ban comes at a time when some reformist groups have announced that they will participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections with 'Khatami at the center.' Meanwhile, Fa'ezeh Hashemi, daughter of the head of the Expediency Council, on Tuesday, August 10, called Khatami's media ban a form of 'election engineering' and stated that the aim of this action was to prevent his 'influence' in the elections. Khatami, in an interview with As-Safir, predicted that the Vienna nuclear agreement would have a 'positive impact' on the upcoming parliamentary elections and that there would be a 'good' election. In recent weeks, alongside reports about the presence of reformists in the elections, attacks from some hardline conservatives against Khatami have increased. According to Fars news agency, Alireza Zakani, a conservative member of parliament, on Sunday accused Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani of attempting to 'disrupt the unity and cohesion' of conservatives by 'bringing' Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, a well-known conservative figure, into the elections. Hussein Fadaei, Secretary-General of the Martyrs' Society, also mentioned the Assembly of Experts elections on Saturday, stating that 'enemies' are trying to raise the 'square of Hashemi, Hassan Khomeini, Rouhani, and Khatami' against the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary. Previously, Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, emphasized that he does not consider Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani among the 'leaders of sedition,' stating that Khatami 'has no right to return to the system' unless he compensates for his 'shortcomings' in 2009. In this context, Motahari demanded the legal documentation for Khatami's media ban, stating that he had asked Rouhani's office for an explanation from the judiciary regarding Khatami's media prohibition. The assembly of clerics urged Rouhani to end Khatami's media ban, and Rouhani's assistant promised that the ban on Khatami's news and images would soon be resolved. The Rouhani government is reportedly negotiating with the judiciary regarding Khatami's bans. Hundreds of Iranian academics protested against the bans on Khatami. Motahari stated that the Supreme National Security Council has no resolution for Khatami's media ban. New reactions have emerged regarding Khatami's media prohibition in Iran.