How Middle East journalists report during internet blackouts
Washington D.C., April 2, 2026—Iran is now in the grip of the longest internet blackout in its history, a near-total shutdown that has stretched more than 30 days and reduced connectivity to almost zero. Imposed amid war and unrest, the sweeping, government-imposed blackout has effectively sealed off the country, cutting journalists’ access to sources and…
Iran arrests 2 female environmental journalists in mass raids
Washington, D.C., November 14, 2023—Iranian authorities must immediately release journalists Nasim Tavafzadeh and Helaleh Nategheh and stop trying to silence journalists by jailing them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Saturday, intelligence agents with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps arrested Tavafzadeh, editor-in-chief of the local news website Moroor.org, and Nategheh, an environmental reporter…
Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza
As of April 9, 2026, CPJ’s preliminary investigations show that at least 261 journalists and media workers are among the more than tens of thousands killed across Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Israel, and Iran since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7, 2023 and the Iran war began in February 28, 2026. Israel’s disregard for the…
Killings of journalists rise as reprisal murders more than double in 2020
New York, December 22, 2020 –The number of journalists singled out for murder in reprisal for their work more than doubled this year, leading to a rise in overall work-related killings, CPJ found in a report released today. Globally, at least 30 journalists were killed on duty in 2020, including 21 reprisal murders, up from…
Iran detains freelance photographer and culture reporter Nooshin Jafari
Washington, D.C., August 12, 2019–Iranian authorities arrested Nooshin Jafari, a photojournalist and culture reporter, outside her home in Tehran on August 3 as she was on her way to work. Jafari, a cinema and theater photographer who reports on culture for several Iranian magazines, was taken to an unknown location, according to news reports. Authorities…
Iran arrests two journalists covering crackdown on religious protests
New York, March 1, 2018–Iranian security forces on February 19 arrested Reza Entessari and Kasra Nouri, reporters with the Sufi news website Majzooban-e-Noor, while they were covering the violent dispersal of religious protests in Tehran, according to their employer and the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
News outlets targeted in Iran amid run-up to elections
New York, June 10, 2013–The Iranian government is attempting to deprive Iranian citizens of meaningful news coverage by blocking several news websites in the run-up to the country’s presidential elections on Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Iran steps up its campaign against the press
New York, October 3, 2012–In a flurry of new anti-press actions in Iran, a jury has voted to convict a Reuters bureau chief on anti-state charges while authorities have jailed the head of the state’s official news agency, blocked Google services, and shut one reformist newspaper.