The Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic has issued a new directive publishing a blacklist of what it designates as “hostile citizen-media entities” (Ensan-Resaneh) and “hostile virtual pages and accounts.” This move indicates that, alongside the ongoing highly securitized domestic environment following the recent war, the suppression of media workers, activists, and social media users continues to expand.
Published on July 13 on the National Portal for Information on Laws and Regulations, the directive invokes the note to Article 4 of the Law on Intensifying the Punishment for Espionage and Cooperation with the Zionist Regime and Hostile Countries Against National Security and Interests. The text emphasizes that any media, promotional, or cultural cooperation with the listed entities can lead to criminal prosecution if legal thresholds are met. Furthermore, sending videos, photographs, or information to foreign media or virtual accounts “contrary to national security” is declared a punishable offence.
The document targets both prominent Persian-language media outlets operating abroad and specific individuals labelled as hostile citizen-media entities, alongside a large number of active social media pages and channels. Among the individuals blacklisted are Masih Alinejad, Hossein Ronaghi, Nazanin Boniadi, Golshifteh Farahani, Ali Karimi, Hamed Esmaeilion, Abdullah Mohtadi, Reza Pahlavi, Shirin Ebadi, Mehdi Mahmoudian, Vahid Beheshti, Shaghayegh Norouzi, and numerous other journalists, political activists, civil society figures, and broadcasters.
