''Ayandegan'' ( lit. "The Future People") was one of the most influential and popular daily newspapers in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

during

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

's rule. It was the first morning daily paper of Iran. It had an independent and critical stance. The paper was also a liberal and nationalist publication in the Pahlavi period.

History and profile

''Ayandegan'' was founded in 1967 by Daryoush Homayoun, and its first issue appeared on 16 December that year. From its start in 1967 to 1977 Homayoun edited the paper, which held a liberal stance. The paper had its headquarters in Tehran. In the immediate aftermath of the

1979 revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, ''Ayandegan'' enjoyed higher levels of circulation selling 400,000 copies. However, the paper was banned on 12 May 1979 due to its criticisms over the Islamic government's

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

and limitations on the

freedom of press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...

. In fact, on the same day the paper published three empty pages to protest over the statements of Ayatullah Khomeini who declared that he would not read ''Ayandegan''. Soon after this incident Ayatullah Khomeini stated that the paper was both depraved and deviationist. Then the revolutionary prosecutor closed the newspaper on 8 August 1979. The staff were also arrested.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayandegan 1967 establishments in Iran 1979 disestablishments in Iran Censorship in Iran Defunct newspapers published in Iran Liberalism in Iran Newspapers established in 1967 Newspapers published in Tehran Defunct Persian-language newspapers Newspapers disestablished in 1979 Pahlavi Iran Banned newspapers Defunct daily newspapers Daily newspapers published in Iran