Amid intense Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, Iran’s capital, on June 16, 2025, the iconic glass building of Iran’s state-run IRIB television, a symbol of the regime’s media, was targeted. The attack killed Nima Rajabpour, a senior news editor at IRIB.
Hours later, Ali Pakzad, a reporter for Shargh newspaper, was detained by Iran’s security forces after visiting IRIB. According to Shargh’s website, Pakzad, after hours of uncertainty, contacted his family to confirm his detention. He was released the following day.
On Monday, explosions from airstrikes in parts of Tehran damaged the offices of Sazandegi newspaper and Ensaf News. Both outlets reported no injuries among their staff.
Since the unprecedented Iran-Israel war began, Iranians have faced systematic disruptions to the free flow of information. Internet access has been repeatedly restricted, and Iran’s judiciary has initiated legal cases against numerous media outlets and journalists. Several outlets received warnings, and widespread arrests of citizens expressing opinions on the conflict have continued.
Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported that a special Tehran prosecutor’s task force has taken judicial and security measures against media, journalists, and citizens accused of “disturbing public psychological security.” According to Fars, targets included ISNA news agency, Dideban Iran, Asr Iran, the Telegram channel Salam, and individuals such as Mostafa Mehraeen, Motahareh Goonei, Sadegh Alhosseini, ali sharifi zarchi, Asal Esmailzadeh, Hassan Asadi Lari, Atiyeh Rad, Ali Taremi, Atefeh Charmhalian, Hadi Tabakhgar, and Hadi Kasaizadeh. Some received warnings, others faced legal cases, and several were detained. Many are journalists, media activists, or civil society figures.
On the ninth day of the war, Iran International TV reported that the IRGC detained three family members of one of its female anchors to pressure her into resigning.
Internet blackouts, judicial and security crackdowns on media, journalists, and social media users, and escalating transnational threats against Iranian journalists abroad have become a recurring pattern following major events in Iran. Last year, amid heightened but controlled Iran-Israel tensions, dozens of media professionals and citizens were detained, faced legal cases, or received threatening calls from security forces for publishing reports or social media content.