''Entekhab'' () was a

Persian-language Persian ( ), also known by its endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken ...

newspaper published in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

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 ...

between 1991 and 2004. Nevertheless, its

news website An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the electronic publishing, online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical literature, periodical. Goin ...

is active under the name of "Entekhab" (Entekhab.ir) and has become one of the most visited news websites in Iran, close to reformists. The Iranian

Supreme National Security Council Supreme National Security Council (SNSC; ''Showrāye Āliye Amniyate Mellī'' also ''Supreme Council for National Security'') is the national security council of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The current secretary of the Supreme National Securi ...

and the

Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (, ''Vezârat-e Farhang va Ershâd-e Eslâmi'') ("Ministry of CIG") is a ministry responsible for managing access to media that, in the view of the Iranian government or the ministry, violates Iranian ...

shut down Entekhab from July to October 2023 over a video post criticizing Iran's foreign deals with China and Russia as failures. The video, titled ''Auction of the Iranian Brand: Why is Iranian Foreign Policy So Weak?'', led to the website's confiscation. Despite a judge's order to release the site, the government refused to comply for weeks.

History

''Entekhab'' was founded by Mohammad Mahdi Faghihi, who was previously the founder of the respected philosophical quarterly, ''Naghd va Nazar''. The daily had a moderate stance and its editorials were mostly educated in Qom's seminary, but their new insights on Entekhab shook the political scene in Iran during the late 1990s. Khamenei ordered the paper to close down shortly after its founding. Although it was reopened later, the paper was banned in 2004. The paper still operates an online version and it is one of the most popular news websites in Iran, with a focus on foreign policy and domestic affairs. ''Entekhab'' is among the reformist news outlets in favour of restoring ties with the US and simultaneously enhancing relationships with China. In 2009 presidential election, ''Entekhab'' was one of the leading pro-Mousavi news websites, leading to it
closure
for more than eight months following the massive protests occurring over the disputed results of the race. Criticizing the government's approach, Entekhab, which is managed by Mostafa Faghihi, a senior media adviser to the late Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has been banned for more than 16 times by the governments of hardline

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...

and moderate

Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani (; born Hassan Fereydoun, 12 November 1948) is an Iranian peoples, Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. He is also a sharia lawyer ("Wakil"), academic, former diplomat and Islamic cl ...

. The news website, however, has managed to survive and gain much influence in Iranian politics. As its chief editor, Mostafa Faghihi has repeatedly faced charges and sentenced to prison. He was lately found guilty for "insulting the Supreme Leader", and was also summoned to the court over his scoop and breaking the news about the real number of deaths from coronavirus in Iran. َ

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Bahramani Rafsanjani (25 August 19348 January 2017) was an Iranian cleric, politician and writer who served as the fourth president of Iran from 1989 to 1997. One of the founding fathers of the Government of Iran, Islamic Republic, ...

, Iran's two time president, praised ''Entekhab'' for its performance, saying the outlet has succeeded in "attracting many audience and achieving a desirable level of influence."

References

External links

Official website
{{Iranian news agencies and websites 1991 establishments in Iran 2004 disestablishments in Iran Newspapers established in 1991 Newspapers disestablished in 2004 Defunct newspapers published in Iran Iranian news websites Defunct Persian-language newspapers Daily newspapers published in Iran Online newspapers with defunct print editions

History

See also

References

External links