In the aftermath of Iran’s military attack on Israel, a new wave of judicial actions against journalists and media outlets has been initiated. On April 14, 2024, the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Abbas Abdi, Yashar Soltani, and the *Etemad* newspaper.
The judiciary’s news agency, Mizan, reported that the charges against Abbas Abdi and *Etemad* newspapers were related to “disturbing public psychological security.” According to Mizan, the Tehran prosecutor “filed charges and summoned the newspaper and the mentioned individual (Abbas Abdi) to the Tehran prosecutor’s office for explanations.”
Simultaneously, *Fararoz*, a news channel close to the judiciary and security bodies of the Islamic Republic, exclusively reported the summoning of Yashar Soltani, a journalist and the director of the *Eskan News* website, to the Tehran prosecutor’s office. *Fararoz* stated that Soltani was summoned for “publishing false information regarding the exchange rate in the *Eskan News* Telegram channel.”
With the judicial actions against Yashar Soltani, Abbas Abdi, and *Etemad* newspaper, the number of media outlets and journalists who have been summoned and charged by the Tehran prosecutor’s office following Iran’s drone and missile attacks on Israel has reached at least five.
Earlier today, the Tehran prosecutor’s office had also filed charges against the *Jahan-e Sanat* newspaper and an economic journalist, Behnam Samadi, for “publishing material aimed at disturbing public psychological security and destabilizing the economic atmosphere of the country.”