Intelligence Ministry Refutes Sending Threatening Messages to Journalists

Referring to the claims that the Ministry has sent threatening messages to Iranian journalists, Intelligence Minister Seyyed Mahmoud Alavi noted, “This organization has not sent any text messages to journalists. I do not believe an official source is behind the move, because the nature of such manoeuvres is clumsy and unprofessional”.

“Officials with the Intelligence Ministry may issue serious warnings to a single journalist for wrongdoing, but they never send threatening messages en masse to a large number of journalists,” he said in an interview with ICANA, as translated by IFP.

An anonymous source has recently sent a message to a wide range of Iranian journalists, giving them a “last warning” to cut their ties with “hostile” media. No one yet knows whether the country’s security bodies were behind the threat or not.

“All contact and collaboration with hostile elements based abroad, by mail or other methods of communication, is a crime and will be brought to justice. This text message is the last warning,” the message said.

Iranian media reported that numerous journalists and public figures including women and child rights activists received the text message on Thursday, June 30.