Iran's parliament on Sunday passed legislation criminalising interviews and other communications with media outlets deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic, including outlets funded by or based in the United States and Israel. The measure was approved by 183 votes and carries penalties of six months to two years in prison for violators.
The law requires citizens to notify the intelligence ministry before speaking with any foreign media and bars unauthorised contact with foreign embassies and organisations. Sharing photographs, video or data with non-Iranian outlets is also prohibited. Penalties escalate sharply for those accused of acting under foreign intelligence direction, with sentences reaching up to 30 years for policy proposals deemed to harm national security, to be tried by Revolutionary Courts.
The legislation follows the recent sentencing of photojournalist Yalda Moayeri to 15 years in prison for providing interviews and photographs to outlets linked to the US and Israel.