Eric Wishart

Journalists covering the war in the Middle East are facing increasing restrictions and censorship imposed by governments and armed groups, with reporters being stopped and questioned or even detained, a survey of AFP bureau chiefs from the region showed.

Some of the tightest restrictions are in Iran and Israel, although Gulf monarchies, targets of unprecedented drone and missile attacks from Iran, have also imposed tighter controls.

Governments seem particularly concerned about images that disclose the location of missile and drone strikes, or that show projectiles being intercepted.

Obtaining independent information outside of official channels is particularly difficult in Iran, where media access to areas outside the capital Tehran is limited or non-existent.

AFP, one of the few international news outlets with a Tehran bureau, has been unable to visit the scene of the strike on a school in the southern town of Minab, where Iranian authorities say more than 150 people, many of them children, were killed.

With the Iranian internet barely functioning and security extremely tight, there is relatively little independent user generated content being posted from within Iran. This contrasts with the start of the war in Ukraine when journalists were allowed to travel freely and citizens posted images of Russian strikes.

To get an independent picture of what is happening outside of Tehran, AFP is relying heavily on interviews with people who have fled the country, including those who have crossed Iran’s borders into neighbouring countries, and on information provided by members of the Iranian diaspora with contacts inside the country.

With the phones barely functioning in Iran, a dedicated team based at AFP’s Paris headquarters has been using their contacts to speak to Iranians who have left the country and scour social media.

It is difficult for staff from the agency’s Tehran bureau to work freely on the ground, although the authorities are organising media visits to civilian sites that have been targeted, including homes, schools, sports stadiums and hospitals.

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, known as Ershad, regulates the press and usually must give its approval before coverage.

However, being given permission to work outside has not prevented journalists from being stopped and questioned by security forces, with the risk of detention.

Iranian state media is focusing on reporting civilian casualties and damage to civilian targets. It does not give military losses, although it does announce the launch of missiles and drones towards Israel and other targets in the region.

AFP’s Middle East photo chief Jewel Samad said Iran’s intelligence ministry warned: “If someone takes photos of sensitive places or damaged buildings and areas or records the locations of centres with a GPS device or mobile phone and marks the places, they could be an agent of the American-Zionist enemy.” It called on people to inform the authorities if they saw anyone doing that.

AFP’s Tehran team is managing to take images of strikes, mainly billowing smoke, from a distance. The bombing has also taken a physical and mental toll on journalists in Iran, whose sleep is constantly interrupted by nighttime air strikes.

Iran’s foe Israel has imposed strict military censorship of sensitive army operations for decades, but has tightened its restrictions as it faces strikes from Iran and the Iranian-backed Shia militia Hezbollah in Lebanon.—AFP