Iran Reformists Target Media Hard-Liners

TEHRAN —  Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and his reformist allies, accused of failing to defend the Islamic system during recent unrest, Wednesday moved against hard-line publications that had challenged him.

The Islamic Culture and Guidance Ministry, under Khatami’s control, said it had moved against three newspapers for printing a letter by Revolutionary Guard officials warning the president that their patience with “insults against the system” was running out.

The Revolutionary Guards’ warning set off alarm bells in some quarters over the threat of a possible coup. The ministry said it had taken preliminary steps to prosecute the newspapers for publishing the letter, which it said was classified “top secret.”

The move was the first concrete step by the Khatami administration to strike back at its hard-line rivals, who have used the recent riots to question the revolutionary credentials of the government and its pro-reform program.

It also follows the closing by a hard-line clerical court this month on similar charges of a leading pro-Khatami daily, which set in motion a series of events culminating in some of the worst unrest since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

A senior ministry official said: “The policy of this ministry department is to be equal. What is important is that the press law be put into practice for everyone.”

The ministry did not name the targeted publications, but press officials confirmed that the case was aimed at the influential hard-line dailies Kayhan and Jomhori Islami, as well as a conservative weekly. All three printed the letter.

Conservative courts recently have closed several moderate publications, many of which have thrived under Khatami. Some of their editors remain in jail awaiting trial.