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Iranwire – In the lead-up to Iran’s presidential election, tensions are escalating between candidates and media outlets, with accusations of bias and calls for judicial intervention.
Ali Abdul Alizadeh, the campaign manager for candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, filed formal complaints against several government-affiliated media outlets.
In letters addressed to the judiciary, the national election headquarters, the prosecutor’s office, and the Guardian Council, Alizadeh accused news agencies Fars and Tasnim, along with newspapers Javan and Keyhan, of “overt and covert interventions” against his candidate.
Citing Article 68 of Iran’s election law, he demanded action against these media organizations.
Meanwhile, the office of former President Hassan Rouhani issued its fourth statement expressing readiness to respond to “distortion of facts in debates.”
Rouhani’s team has repeatedly offered to address what they term “political claims, statistical lies, and fact distortions” that have emerged during the election debates.
The controversy extended to social media, where lawyer and MP Mehdi Davatgari condemned a report by the Tasnim news agency.
The report, which claimed Pezeshkian was making “financial efforts to attract celebrities,” was described by Davatgari as an “insult to the honor and dignity” of the candidate.
He called for legal action against the media outlet for “spreading rumors and untrue content with the intention of disturbing the public mind.”
Donya-e-Eqtesad newspaper published a report criticizing the entry of the current administration in support of candidate Saeed Jalili.
The paper suggested that some conservative factions might be pursuing a strategy to reduce voter turnout, speculating that “the more participation, the probability of their candidate’s victory decreases.”
