Media blackout in Iran: at least one media outlet suspended, silence from the country’s other independent newsrooms

Digital blackout and the suspension of Ham-Mihan

Since the blackoutbegan, it has been almost impossible to obtain information about the fate of journalists and independent media outlets in the country. From abroad, the website of the country's most widely read reformist daily, Shargh Daily, has been inaccessible since the beginning of January 2026. The same is true of the websites of the reformist daily Etemad, the English-language daily Iran Daily, and other independent outlets.

The reformist daily Ham-Mihanwas officially suspended by the Iranian authorities on 18 January, asanction confirmed in a statement made by the newspaper's director, Gholamhossein Karbaschi, on 19 January.. In his message, he addressed the Iranian president: "Under your government, despite all the statements and slogans, [the newspaper] has been banned […] on false pretexts," he wrote. According to the pro-regime independent news website Khabar Online, Iran's Press Supervisory Board justified its decision by citing two articles about the wave of protests: an editorial piece alluding to the dates of the potential fall of the current regime, and an article by prominent journalist Elaheh Mohammadion the impact of the repression on medical care. A correspondent for Ham-Mihan, Elaheh Mohammadi spent nearly two yearsin prison following her reporting on the funeral of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, whose death triggered the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement.

A strategy of systemic censorship

This blackout is not an isolated incident: it is part of a continuous policy of media repressionand restrictions on media pluralism in Iran, as documented by RSF. Propaganda websites and Telegram channels affiliated with the regime remain accessible from outside the country. The state media outlet Press TV, for example, is fully operational: "The intelligence services of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps dismantle monarchist and MKO terrorist cells in northeastern Iran," reads its 20 January headline, referring to the state's official response to allegations of violent repression. Two of the country's official news agencies, Tasnimand Mezian, are also accessible.

Iran ranks 176th out of 180 in the 2025 RSF 2025 World Press Freedom Index. More than 100 journalists have been arrested in the country since 2022 - at least 17 of them remain detained, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate, human rights activist and journalist Narges Mohammadi.