Word: atrianfar
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...telephone call that announced the ban of Iran's foremost independent daily, Shargh, came late this morning. "I have good news for you," said Mohammad Atrianfar, the newspaper's editor-in-chief, putting the receiver down and taking a calm sip of tea. "We've been shut down." I happened to be in his office at the time, waiting to talk about Iran's nuclear confrontation with the West. Shargh has bravely broadened debate here about the issue, publishing critics of the government's hardline stance and informing Iranians that such radicalism carries high costs. The closure, suggests Atrianfar...
...government at a time when its policies grow more controversial, and its public support more uncertain. In recent weeks, the government has threatened critics with "legal action," and rounded up illegal satellite dishes that provide access to outside news channels popular among millions of Iranians. The banning of Shargh, Atrianfar explained, reflects the government hostility toward any form of political opposition. In its absence, there will no longer be any print forum through which liberal intellectuals and reformists can communicate their ideas with the public. "It's clear there's no tolerance for a reform movement to take root here...
...Iran's television networks, including its Arab-language station broadcast by satellite around the region, carried extensive images of Lebanese casualties and effusive coverage of Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrullah. "Ahmadinejad always considers it his role to crowd-please in the Islamic world," says Mohammad Atrianfar, editor of Shargh newspaper. "But this is rhetoric, not actual policy...
...easier to funnel its support for Hizballah via Damascus. "Iran and Syria are now standing behind each other," says Laylaz. "Their strategy is more unified." Does this mean that Iran micro-manages Hizballah or vets its major operations? "Hizballah sees the need to confer with Iran," says Atrianfar. "But it doesn't necessarily do so over tactics...