“Ansarullah’s Missile Targets Riyadh; Dubai Is Next Target” was the controversial and belligerent headline that appeared in the front page of Kayhan newspaper on Monday, November 6.
Later in the day, the Secretary of the Board Responsible for Supervising the Iranian Press said the headline was considered ‘against national security and interests’.
According to Seyyed Alaeddin Zohourian, the conservative paper has received an official note of warning for its headline, IRNA said in a Farsi report.
Kayhan‘s headline came a few hours after IRGC Chief-Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari categorically denied the Islamic Republic’s involvement in the missile attack on Riyadh international airport, and stressed that it is not even possible for Iran to transfer any missile to Houthi Ansarullah fighters in Yemen.
Meanwhile, even if Iran had any influence on the Yemeni fighters, as claimed by some Western and Arab countries, it would have definitely prevented them from attacking Dubai, which is a major economic partner of Iranian firms.
This is not the first time Kayhan, run by veteran conservative journalist Hossein Shariatmadari, uses controversial headlines that are said to be against national interests.
