Iran International
The revelation that Iranian journalists received government-issued SIM cards for unfettered access internet access while most users endured heavy state censorship has led to accusations that their privilege skewed their output.
The controversy erupted after a recent update on social media platform X rendered the location from which users operated visible.
Those whose location was listed as Iran and not a third country, scrambled by a VPN, appeared to have unfettered access.
In Iran, the new feature exposed that thousands of officials, lawmakers, political activists, journalist and even some pro-government artists, had uncensored internet—even during full national shutdowns.
Critics describe internet in Iran as “tiered," with a hierarchy of favored voices given greater freedom via so-called “white SIMs”, or government issued phone cards with carte blanche to navigate the internet.
'Distrust, discrimination'
Communication researcher Saeed Arkanzadeh-Yazdi told the Shafaqna news outlet that the revelations have generated “an unprecedented wave of collective anger,” clearly visible in the online backlash.
“The distrust toward politicians and activists, and the resentment over the discrimination ... is far greater than what we see on social media,” he said, singling out journalists, whose standing in the public eye, he said, was deeply harmed by the affair.
Some journalists defended the use of the privileged SIM cards while condemning limitations imposed on the public.
Reformist columnist Abbas Abdi—a long-time opponent of internet filtering—said he had openly acknowledged his access years ago. But in an article in Etemad daily, he argued that the benefit itself had been misunderstood.
“In fact, this was not a privilege for journalists," Abdi wrote. "They exempted journalists from a punishment from which everyone should have been exempt … If the exemption required some kind of commitment, then the act should be condemned.”
'Soft-war fighters'
Some with White SIMs were even more direct in defending their privilege.
“Unfiltered internet is not a personal privilege," hardline commentator Abdollah Ganji posted on X. "It is a decision by past and present governments to equip the fighters of the soft war.”
Just as the government is obliged to strengthen the armed forces, he wrote, “for example by helping to develop the Revolutionary Guard's missile program," it must also equip “the frontline warriors of the soft, cognitive and hybrid war."
More backlash
Reformist media figure Isa Saharkhiz rebuked Abdi’s defense in a post on Telegram, asking whether journalists should have chosen solidarity with the public.
“Could the correct, principled and law-abiding behavior not have been to self-sanction until the majority of society was freed from these restrictions?” he wrote.
Political activist Zeinab Zaman wrote on X: “Friends with white SIM cards: if X hadn’t introduced this feature, you would have continued silently. Any explanation now only worsens your image. You accepted this discrimination in silence.”
Journalist Mohammad Raei-Fard called the privileged SIM cards “an insult to the people,” in a post on X, arguing the government had turned internet access into yet another class privilege.
Apologies under pressure
Public backlash has pushed some journalists to apologize.
Reporter Somaye Baghi expressed remorse and promised to request that her access be revoked. She revealed that her SIM was unfiltered “a few weeks after the 12-Day War,” but said she now sees the ethical dimension more clearly.
“I benefited from an unequal privilege. I viewed it as a tool for journalism, but now I know it is also a moral issue,” she posted on X.
Baghi stressed that although she neither requested nor gained access through political connections, she had accepted it. “In Iran’s non-transparent system, any special access becomes questionable — and such criticism is legitimate.”
The Organization for Regulating Audio-Visual Media in Cyberspace (known as SATRA) said the platform carrying Bazmandeh (Survivor or The Last One) was stopped for posting a video deemed to include “insults to national and patriotic symbols,” and for lacking required licenses, according to statements carried by state media.
SATRA officials added that the show and its distributor had not obtained valid production or release permits.
Coverage of the story across Iranian media described the act as disrespect toward symbols tied to Iran’s pre-Islamic heritage.
Cultural scholars quoted by the official ISNA news agency called the sequence “symbolic violence,” urging tighter editorial standards around heritage imagery and pointing out that entertainment formats typically use neutral targets rather than identity-laden icons.
The debate drew thousands of online comments and highlighted heightened sensitivities around Achaemenid-era motifs such as Persepolis reliefs.
An ISNA article said the show’s producers lacked a current SATRA license and that the platform was taken offline pending legal follow-up. SATRA did not say whether Bazmandeh would be allowed to resume or face additional penalties.
Separate coverage by Rouydad24 detailed the symbols shown and amplified criticism from social media users who argued that converting the Homa and Derafsh Kaviani into “smash targets” trivialized collective identity.
Some posts also faulted presenters Siamak Ansari and Mehran Ghafourian; the report paraphrased producers as saying their intent was to showcase national identity, a rationale that critics rejected.
In recent days some outlets framed the controversy as a test of media ethics and licensing oversight in Iran’s streaming sector.
Alireza Hasanzadeh, anthropologist and associate professor at Iran’s Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, told ISNA, “Professional broadcasters follow a clear code of ethics: identity symbols must not be subjected to symbolic violence, insult or defacement... Attacking identity, cultural and national symbols is effectively an attack on the identity of a people and a land.”
Nationalism as tool
Iranian officials have increasingly highlighted pre-Islamic history and iconic figures – once marginalized in official narratives – to promote unity and reclaim legitimacy after the June war with Israel and deepening domestic discontent.
For decades, authorities suppressed many expressions linked to Iran’s ancient heritage, viewing them as rivals to the Islamic Republic’s ideological identity.
Now, however, the same symbols are being invoked to police behavior, discipline artists, and regulate digital platforms, even as critics argue the sudden embrace of nationalism is a performative response to a legitimacy crisis rather than a genuine cultural reorientation.
The move against the reality show comes weeks after Iranian authorities handed a six-month prison sentence to comedian Zeinab Mousavi for a joke about Ferdowsi, the 10th-century poet behind Iran’s national epic, the Shahnameh.
Mousavi, known for her satirical online persona “Empress Kuzcooo,” was convicted over a comedy segment reciting verses from the Shahnameh with irreverent commentary.
The court ordered her to prepare a supervised thesis on Ferdowsi’s role in Iran’s national identity and to conduct at least 120 hours of storytelling sessions for children using Shahnameh material.
The Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by Ferdowsi tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of the Persian Empire from the creation of the world until the Arab invasion of Persia in the seventh century, which turned the country into a Muslim state.
National symbols 'insulted'
Clips from the Bazmaneh reality competition showed contestants hurling objects at a wall of puzzle tiles decorated with stylized versions of well-known motifs from ancient Iran.
Viewers and local outlets said the designs evoked three icons: the Homa (a mythic bird of fortune), the Derafsh Kaviani (the epic banner of revolt), and a griffin (shir-dal) like those carved at Persepolis.
The imagery was illustrative – patterns inspired by antiquity rather than replicas of any single artifact – but it touched a nerve because these motifs sit at the heart of Iran’s cultural memory.
The Homa – often conflated in everyday speech with the Simurgh – is a legendary bird in Persian lore said to bestow luck or even kingship when its shadow falls on someone.
As a benevolent emblem, it appears in poetry, miniature painting, carpets, and public art, making it a shorthand for good fortune and legitimacy.
The Derafsh Kaviani is the banner raised by Kaveh the Blacksmith in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh against the tyrant Zahhak. Over centuries it has become a literary symbol of justice, resistance, and popular sovereignty – less a military standard than a moral one.
That association is why many viewers read the scene as an affront to a core tale of Iranian defiance.
The griffin (shir-dal) – a composite lion-eagle – repeats across Achaemenid art, including architectural elements and reliefs at Persepolis.
In plain terms, it works as a guardian motif: the lion for strength, the eagle for vigilance and vision. To many Iranians, it signals royal authority and protective power, so depicting it as a target struck some as trivializing a protective emblem woven into the country’s ancient visual language.
In a letter addressed to Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, 155 members of parliament said the judiciary had become passive in applying regulations on Islamic dress and public behavior.
They urged the courts to “restore governance” by ensuring that all state bodies enforce existing rules while the government’s postponed hijab law remains under review.
“The judiciary cannot remain passive toward failures by executive bodies,” the lawmakers wrote, accusing some judges and officials of “negligence” that had allowed “moral decline” and “social abnormalities” to spread.
The lawmakers urged action on the Chastity and Hijab law—formally called the Law on Protection of the Family Through Promotion of Chastity and Hijab—which was approved by parliament but has yet to be sent to the government for implementation.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has faced mounting criticism from hardline lawmakers who accuse him of withholding the legislation.
Tehran MP Kamran Ghazanfari on Tuesday said Ghalibaf had refused to finalize the law since September last year, calling the delay a violation of his legal duty.
“This means obstructing the implementation of a Quranic and divine command,” he told parliament, accusing the speaker of “ignoring repeated calls” from clerics and legislators and allowing “immodesty and corruption” to spread.
Government signals caution
Also on Tuesday, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said ministries have submitted periodic reports on the status of hijab enforcement to President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“The hijab report has been delivered on time to the president and the Supreme Leader, and action will be taken to curb organized movements,” she said, adding that each ministry provides updates according to its responsibilities within specific time frames.
Supreme leader’s directive
Tensions rose further last week when a leaked audio file suggested Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had issued a written order to step up enforcement of Islamic dress codes after reviewing an intelligence ministry report warning of “erosion of discipline.”
Officials later confirmed the directive but denied any dispute within the cabinet. Conservative outlets described it as an “explicit call for decisive action” against violations of the hijab law.
Despite growing pressure, many women and girls continue to appear unveiled in public. The Associated Press reported last week that uncovered women were seen walking freely in Tehran’s markets, metro stations and schools, often without interference from police.
Analysts say authorities are wary of large-scale crackdowns that could reignite unrest. “The scale of disobedience is unprecedented,” said Iran analyst Holly Dagres. “Another coercive campaign could spark protests they cannot contain.”
An audio file surfaced online in which senior cleric Hossein Rafiei asserted that Khamenei had instructed the government to step up enforcement of the Islamic dress code on Iranian women.
Official scrutiny of women's dress had eased in the year's since the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, sparked nationwide protests in 2022 which were violently suppressed.
The laxness had appeared to reach new levels following a 12-day war with Israel and the United States in June, as authorities appeared keen not to stoke public anger.
Rafiei said Khamenei issued the written order after reviewing an intelligence ministry report completed three months after the conflict. The precise timing was not clear.
Several cabinet members, he alleged, had initially objected but President Masoud Pezeshkian “insisted on abiding by the order.”
One of the ministers, the head of the Government Information Counci Elias Hazrati later confirmed the directive but denied any cabinet dispute.
The president and ministers, he said, oppose “coercive methods such as the morality patrols” that have often “worsened the situation.”
Hardline mobilization
Hardline factions seized on the revelation as a mandate to intensify pressure on women.
They quickly organized a social campaign for a November 28 march, coinciding with the traditional death anniversary of Fatima, the Prophet Mohammed’s daughter.
“The Leader’s remarks on the report … have shaken officials,” lawmaker Ghasem Ravanbakhsh said at an event in Tehran on Friday.
“(Khamenei) emphasized in his message that supervisory bodies are obliged to identify and take action against organizers and agents responsible for the problems that have arisen regarding hijab and chastity.”
‘Government’s obligation’
The conservative daily Khorasan, aligned with Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, bashed Hazrati for implying that Iran’s leadership was divided on the issue.
Khamenei’s directive, the editorial asserted, was an “explicit directive” for decisive action against those who disrupt public and social order, invoking a criminal offense under Iranian law.
The paper warned that “the slightest misunderstanding … or conflation of ‘enforcement’ with ‘tension’ could once again pave the way for a repeat of bitter past experiences.”
Khamenei’s reserved position
Khamenei had refrained from explicitly addressing the hijab issue in public for a year, but on November 3 urged women to “remind” those around them of its religious significance.
His last major intervention before that was in April 2023, when he accused foreign intelligence services of encouraging hijab defiance and called such acts “religiously and politically haram (forbidden).”
It remains unclear when Khamenei reviewed the intelligence report or issued his directive, but the leak reframes several recent official comments.
On November 18, during a Cultural Revolution Council meeting, Pezeshkian said adherence to hijab norms “should begin from within government bodies,” not through coercion or confrontation.
On August 30, he had warned that strict enforcement could “create conflict in society” and spark tensions the government may be unable to contain.
‘Enemy tools’
A string of recent cultural events in Tehran has drawn backlash after videos showed participants ignoring hijab rules.
Tehran Design Week, held at the University of Tehran’s Fine Arts campus, was shut down earlier this month after a Basij student protest accused the venue of becoming a site for “inappropriate entertainment.” The Basij is a domestic enforcement militia.
Since August, at least 20 cafes, restaurants and wedding halls have been closed nationwide for alleged violations ranging from “serving alcohol” to “nudity” and “mixed-gender dancing,” according to the reformist daily Ham Mihan.
Recent reports also indicate expanding non-coercive enforcement tools, including digital and administrative controls such as disabling SIM cards of violators and heightened scrutiny of celebrities and influencers who openly reject the hijab.
Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei has described the undermining of the veil as among the “enemy’s tools” and warned that event organizers—as well as authorities issuing permits—could be prosecuted as accomplices if violations occur under their watch.
Patients in Mashhad said rations shrank from two months to one week before stocks of the drug (mycophenolic acid 360 mg) “fell to zero,” with pharmacists advising a move to domestically made equivalents, the ILNA news agency reported.
Fatemeh Pour-Rezagholi, secretary of Iran’s Kidney Transplant Scientific Association, said originator-brand supplies have not been distributed recently, citing foreign-exchange constraints, sanctions-related frictions and customs delays.
She added that Iranian versions are available and effective for most patients, but unplanned brand changes can be stressful or risky for those early post-transplant or with prior rejection. Importers have indicated the original brand may return later in winter, according to ILNA.
Doctors and pharmacists told ILNA that 70-80% of recipients tolerate domestic formulations, but roughly 10-20% may require a specific brand or closer therapeutic-drug monitoring.
Patient groups and clinicians are urging clearer import timetables, steadier FX allocation for critical transplant drugs and contingency guidance to minimize unplanned switches.
Clinicians say the fiscal and human costs are far higher if grafts fail and patients return to dialysis, and have asked regulators to protect a baseline of imports for high-risk cases while stabilizing domestic supply for the majority.
US sanctions policy formally exempts most medicines and many medical devices, with humanitarian channels – such as Switzerland’s state-backed payment mechanism – designed to process vetted transactions.
In practice, suppliers and aid groups say persistent “over-compliance” by global banks, shippers and insurers fearful of sanctions risk, which can delay or block payments, shipments and insurance even for lawful medical goods.
Economists also point to the rial’s volatility and domestic pricing and procurement rules as recurring hurdles that raise import costs and complicate supply planning.
According to Mehr News on Monday, Iran has raised medicine prices several times in recent months under a “realistic pricing” policy meant to support the domestic pharmaceutical industry, but insurance coverage has not kept pace – leaving patients to shoulder a growing share of drug costs as reimbursements lag behind the hikes.
