Iran Introduces Prison Sentences for Giving Statements to Foreign Hostile Media

The Iranian parliament has passed a draft law that would make interviews and other communication with media outlets deemed hostile by the authorities a criminal offense, the newspaper Shargh reported.

These include American and Israeli media, as well as media organizations funded by the US or Israel.

According to the draft law, which still needs to be reviewed by the Guardian Council before it comes into force, interviews or participation in discussions with such media would be prohibited, and violations would be punishable by six months to two years in prison.

For interviews with other foreign media, it would be necessary to notify the Ministry of Intelligence.

This is not the first time Iran has criminalized cooperation with foreign entities. Under a law passed last year, after a 12-day war with Israel and the US, harsher penalties were introduced for alleged cooperation with hostile states.

Iranian photojournalist Yalda Moayeri was this month sentenced to 15 years in prison under that law on charges that included, among other things, giving interviews to media designated as hostile and providing photographs to organizations linked to the US and Israel, Al Jazeera reports.