‘Iran bans reformist paper for two months’

‘Iran bans reformist paper for two months’

Iranian authorities have imposed a two-month ban on a reformist newspaper, Etemad, for printing what the country’s press watchdog said was “lies and insults” to officials, media reported today. The daily’s managing editor, Elias Hazrati, linked the suspension to a recent interview with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s press advisor, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, critical of hardliners opposed to Ahmadinejad. “We were informed that the ban was for publishing an interview with Javanfekr.... We had edited parts of the interview but it must have still not been deemed acceptable,” Hazrati was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.