Iran's government has warned of a "creeping coup in the press," newspapers reported Sunday, raising concerns about a tougher line in future with media critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"There are many signs showing there is a creeping coup in the press," Culture Minister Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi said in comments published in several reformist newspapers.
"When we talk about a creeping coup it means someone's movement is in an overthrowing framework. We do not see a coup as a group gathering in a military base and seeking to attack," he said.
Harandi's comments come after the reformist daily Ham Mihan was banned less than two months after it returned to news stands following a seven-year ban and Iran's labour news agency, ILNA, stopped its activities following the resignation of its director.
Ahmadinejad's communications officer has vowed that "lies and ill-intentions (against the government) will not remain unanswered."
"The black, unclean propaganda and the daily plots against the government plans and actions have turned into direct insults and mockery of the president," Mohammad Jafar Behdad said, as quoted by Shargh newspaper.
"Tolerating this trend means ignoring the votes and the confidence of those who voted for Ahmadinejad ... we know our opponents and will continue to defend the government against crafting lies," Behdad said.
Ahmadinejad's press advisor has charged that "some publications have not reached political maturity, which forces the National Security Council to issue warnings."
"As long as some publications serve the agenda of parties and power-seeking groups, relevant authorities should intervene and warn to protect national interests," Ali Akbar Javanfekr told Shargh.
Ham Mihan was published by former Tehran mayor Gholam Hosein Karbaschi, who is close to both reformist former president Mohammad Khatami and his more conservative predecessor Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
ILNA, which halted work on Tuesday night, regularly reported on workers' protests over unpaid wages, rights activists' arrests and human rights issues.
In a letter carried on ILNA's website director Masoud Heydari said he had resigned to "protect the agency from damages."
"ILNA has reflected the news of civil institutions, it knows about their problems, pains and demands," wrote Heydari, hinting the agency's reporting could not be tolerated by "those who oppose and want to restrain transparent reporting."
The conservative media have not been immune either. In April, popular news website Baztab was banned for the second time in three months.
Baztab had been especially critical of the economic policies of Ahmadinejad's government and its decision to hold a conference questioning the veracity of the Holocaust.
But it also had a record of being equally critical of Iran's reformist leaders, blasting the previous government of Khatami for being too soft in Iran's nuclear standoff with the West.
There are currently around 40 national dailies published in Iran, half of which are close to moderate and reformist camps.
Iranian press enjoyed some freedom under Khatami's presidency from 1997 to 2005, but in a judiciary crackdown in 2000, scores of reformist publications, including Ham Mihan, were shut down.
