Iran Temporarily Suspends Conservative Paper for Its Headline

Based on a lawsuit filed by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the Kayhan daily newspaper will not be published on Saturday and Sunday, November 11 and 12, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi announced on Wednesday.

According to the prosecutor, Kayhan’s Monday headline, “Ansarullah’s Missile Targets Riyadh; Dubai Is Next Target”, was “against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s principled policies on regional security and issues.

The paper had earlier received an official warning by the body that supervises the Iranian press for the controversial headline.

Secretary of the Board Responsible for Supervising the Iranian Press said the headline was considered ‘against national security and interests’.

However, even after receiving the official note of warning, Kayhan on Tuesday defended its earlier headline and said, “Iran’s national interests are secured by defending the innocent people of Yemen. Don’t be worried about Dubai’s skyscrapers.”

Kayhan‘s Monday 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.