Iran International
Tehran's crackdowns on media persist despite the state’s mounting political and economic troubles, with bans of various forms imposed on those who drifts beyond acceptable bounds.
The restrictive measures extend beyond censorship and judicial action to include barriers to income, careers, and public influence. Social media accounts may be deactivated, and work removed from distribution.
The latest example is Reza Rashidpour, a well-known former Iranian television presenter and talk-show host whose programs were taken off the air without explanation, allegedly due to his contributions to former President Hassan Rouhani’s 2017 campaign.
In a post on X addressed to President Masoud Pezeshkian, he claimed he has now been barred from using any platform to publish his work.
“They told me that I am banned from (any artistic) activity,” he wrote. “Five years have passed. The remaining will pass too. In a corner of my home, my homeland, I will sit and watch.”
Rashidpour is by no means an outsider. Securing a major show on the state broadcaster requires extensive vetting, loyalty checks, and alignment with institutional red lines. But falling out of favor can be just as swift.
‘Failed policy’
Yet few rush to defend figures like him—or many others who once thrived within the establishment but later became expendable. The public often sees them as insiders who benefited from the system until the system abruptly turned against them.
This pattern has long applied to artists, athletes, and even politicians; former President Mohammad Khatami’s years of deplatforming and enforced invisibility is a good example.
“Why does a policy that has been applied for decades in culture, media, and politics—and has repeatedly failed—continue to be used as a tool of control?” a commentary on moderate daily Rouydad 24 asked this week.
“Few actions draw more attention to a voice than the attempt to silence it,” the piece added.
Such bans are often unofficial but powerful. Over the years, many artists and athletes who supported popular protests or criticized the state have faced similar restrictions.
Actor, vocalist, footballer
Renowned actress Fatemeh Motamed-Aria was banned from working in the film industry after criticizing government policies and appearing without a headscarf at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, leading to previously completed films being blocked from release.
Classical music maestro Mohammad-Reza Shajarian was similarly sidelined after expressing sympathy with demonstrators in 2009—releasing the song Put Down Your Rifle, an apparent address to Iran’s security forces.
Legendary footballer Ali Daei faced restrictions after expressing support for popular protests in 2022. Authorities confiscated the passports of Daei and his family, and his jewelry shop and restaurant in Tehran were sealed.
Such restrictions could last for weeks or years, and are often lifted as opaquely as they were imposed, with no official charge of explanation.
Quiet crackdowns
Recent months have seen individuals abruptly cut off from their mobile phone numbers and pressured to shut down widely followed social-media accounts.
In August, media reports said authorities blocked the SIM card of journalist Saeedeh Shafiei, forcing her to deactivate her social-media accounts and sign a pledge to publish pro-government content in exchange for restoring service.
Battered by the June war and mounting economic and environmental crises, Tehran appears to be pulling back from some of its bluntest tools—only to replace them with quieter, more insidious methods of repression.
