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''Kayhan'' ( fa, کيهان, '' en, The Cosmos'') is a newspaper published in Tehran,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. It is considered "the most conservative Iranian newspaper."
Hossein Shariatmadari
Hossein Shariatmadari ( fa, حسین شريعتمداری) is the managing editor of ''Kayhan'', a conservative Iranian newspaper.
Career
A strong supporter of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he has been described as being "a close confidant of ...
is the
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
of ''Kayhan''. According to the report of the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in 2007, his official position is representative of the
Supreme Leader of Iran
The Supreme Leader of Iran ( fa, رهبر ایران, rahbar-e irān) is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Supreme Leader directs the executive system and judicial system of the Islamic theocratic government and is the co ...
.
''Kayhan'' has about 1,000 employees worldwide.
There are conflicting reports about its circulation numbers: in 2006 the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
gave it as 60,000–100,000 copies, in 2007 the ''New York Times'' gave "about 70,000", and in 2008 a
New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in N ...
journal article reported it as 350,000 copies. ''Kayhan'' also publishes special foreign editions, which include the English-language ''Kayhan International''.
History and profile
''Kayhan'' was founded in February 1943 by owner
Abdolrahman Faramarzi and
Mostafa Mesbahzadeh as
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
. Later the roles of Faramarzi and Mesbahzadeh were reversed. The paper supported
Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi during his reign. Published in Iran as well as in London, the newspaper had a circulation greater than one million prior to the
1979 Islamic Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
. In 1974 Kayhan media group introduced itself as "the largest newspaper and magazine publishing house in the Middle East". Forugh Mesbahzadeh, the wife of ''Kayhan'' major owner, officially appeared as the manager of the leading Iranian women's magazine, ''
Zan-e Rooz''.
During the clashes between the Imperial forces and revolutionaries ''Kayhan'' and ''
Ettela'at
''Ettela'at'' ( fa, اطلاعات, Ettelâ'ât, ) is a Persian language daily newspaper of record published in Iran. It is among the oldest publications in the country, and the oldest running Persian daily newspaper in the world. The paper has ...
'' was censored. After the overthrow of the Shah all of Mesbahzadeh's assets were seized, including the publishing plant, which was the main headquarters of the daily. Following the revolution ''Kayhan'' became a state-sponsored publication together with ''Ettela'at'' and ''
Jomhouri-e Eslami
''Jomhouri-e Eslami'' ( fa, جمهوری اسلامی) is an official Newspapers in Iran, Iranian newspaper, which started its work on 30 May 1979, as the newspaper of Islamic Republic Party. In the beginning it was under the grantee of Islamic R ...
'' of which publishers are directly appointed by the Supreme Leader.
In May 1980,
Ayatollah Khomeini named
Ebrahim Yazdi
Ebrahim Yazdi ( fa, ابراهیم یزدی; 26 September 1931 – 27 August 2017) was an Iranian politician, pharmacist, and diplomat who served as deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs in the interim government of Mehdi Bazar ...
, then foreign minister, as head of the daily. Under the guidance of Mesbahzadeh, the London office of ''Kayhan'' continued its work and publishes a monarchist weekly issue known as ''
Kayhan London'', which has a small circulation. In 2006, Mesbahzadeh died at the age of 98 in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
The paper focuses on political, cultural, social and economic news.
Political orientation
''Kayhan'' supports the Iranian government and the policies of former President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Shariatmadari stated that the newspaper and its staff "defend the ideology of the Islamic Revolution." Gareth Smyth, the former Iran correspondent of the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
'', contends that ''Kayhan'' articulates the political views of the "regime's fundamentalist camp."
Shariatmadari rejects the labels "conservative" and "fundamentalist," which he had said "...make us sound like the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
." Instead, he calls himself and those with similar views "
principlists
The Principlists ( fa, اصولگرایان, Osul-Garāyān, ), also interchangeably known as the Iranian Conservatives Open access material licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. and form ...
". The Principlist faction comprises the majority of the
Iranian Parliament.
This group is also referred to as the "neo-principlists" and includes such figures as
Gholamali Haddad Adel and
Saeed Jalili
Saeed Jalili ( fa, سعید جلیلی; born 1 September 1965) is an Iranian conservative politician and diplomat who was secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 2007 to 2013. He is currently member of the Expediency Discernment ...
among the others.
In fact, the daily is the print media outlet of the group.
[
]
Controversies
The newspaper became controversial in 2010 for iterating an unequivocal condemnation of then-French First Lady for her open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally.
Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an indiv ...
about the death sentence against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani ( fa, سکینه محمدی آشتیانی; born 1967) is an Iranian Azeri woman convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and adultery. She gained international notoriety for originally being sentenced to death by sto ...
for adultery and alleged murder. The newspaper called Bruni an "Italian prostitute" and "the singer and decadent actress who managed to break pthe Sarkozy family" who "deserves to die" for her "perverted lifestyle," reiterating the striking similarities between Ashtiani and Bruni, and also condemned actress Isabelle Adjani
Isabelle Yasmina Adjani ; born 27 June 1955) is a French actress and singer of Algerian and German descent. She is the only performer in history to win five César Awards for acting; she won the Best Actress award for '' Possession'' (1981), '' ...
as a prostitute. The French foreign ministry condemned the comments as "unacceptable" and summoned the Iranian ambassador to France. The Iranian foreign ministry sought to distance itself from ''Kayhan'' comments, with spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast
Ramin Mehmanparast ( fa, رامین مهمانپرست) is an Iranian diplomat, the former spokesman of the Iranian foreign ministry and the former ambassador to Poland and Lithuania. He was the deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the head of the ...
stating that "The media can properly criticize the wrong and hostile policies of other countries by refraining from using insulting words. This is not correct."
In 2020, following the expulsion of Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. ...
(MSF) from Iran, ''Kayhan'' editor, Hossein Shariatmadari, described the MSF as an "American puppet" because it is "based in France and all anti-Iranian groups have a base in France.
On 28 April 2022, the same day as Yom HaShoah
Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah ( he, יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה, , lit=Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day), known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah (יום השואה) and in English as Holocaust Rem ...
, ''Kayhan'' published an opinion piece
An opinion piece is an article, usually published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about a subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.
Editorials
Opinion pieces may take the form of an editorial, ...
in the front page praising Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
and promoting anti-semitic tropes.
After a Lebanese-American suspect stabbed the Indian-born author Salman Rushdie
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and We ...
on 12 August 2022, Kayhan responded by congratulating "a thousand bravos ... to the brave and dutiful person who attacked the apostate and evil Salman Rushdie in New York... The hand of the man who tore the neck of God's enemy must be kissed”.
See also
* List of newspapers in Iran
The first Iranian newspapers appeared in the mid-19th century during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah. More specifically, the first newspaper in Iran, Kaghaz-e Akhbar (The Newspaper), was launched for the government by Mirza Saleh Shirazi in 1837 ...
* Kayhan London
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kayhan
1943 establishments in Iran
Newspapers established in 1943
Newspapers published in Tehran
Persian-language newspapers
State media