Arrest, prosecution, and censorship have long shaped the media landscape in Iran. Currently,
nine journalists
are known to be imprisoned for doing their job, including Iranian-American journalist
Reza Valizadeh
, who was detained in September 2024 and is currently serving 10 years in prison. But members of the press interviewed in August by the Committee to Protect Journalists say this year’s war with Israel and the United States has solidified these repressive measures.
The impact became clear when CPJ reached out to dozens of journalists to map the current reality inside Iran. Only five agreed to be interviewed. Many declined, others stopped responding after initial conversations, and several said they feared speaking — even anonymously — because they believed doing so could expose them to retaliation.
During a near-total
internet blackout
that lasted
88 days
, connectivity plummeted to about 1%, leaving journalists unable to report on the surging violence in their country. But rather than describing an entirely new reality, journalists said the conflict exacerbated existing patterns of
judicial harassment
, surveillance, and self-censorship.
What some expected to be temporary wartime policies have instead endured after the large-scale fighting of the nearly six-month war
eased
months ago, trapping local journalists in a prolonged struggle and shaping their daily reporting.
Mounting legal risks
One veteran journalist in Tehran paused momentarily when CPJ asked him to describe the current state of affairs. “If I talk to you about what journalists face in Iran, I’ll become an example myself.”
“They will summon me, open another case against me, and ask why I spoke to a foreign organization,” said the journalist, requesting anonymity to speak freely.
In a country where CPJ has documented at least seven journalists facing arrest, detention or summons since the outbreak of war on February, 28, 2026, their self-censorship and calculated caution
… [more]
