Iran is ‘victim’ of lies and distortions in media: Culture minister

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Iran is a “victim” of disinformation, distortions and lies in media, the country’s culture and Islamic guidance minister said on Saturday.

Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili told Anadolu Agency that Iran “has been experiencing” the problem of disinformation “for decades.”

“We are currently faced with a media that seeks to create a false story about Iranian society by using all disinformation techniques, especially lies, distortions and exaggerations,” Esmaili said, after attending the two-day meeting of the information ministers of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul.

Besides calling a combat against Islamophobia and hatred against Islam, the OIC in Istanbul declaration emphasized on the importance of cooperation among its member states in “developing necessary mechanisms to fight disinformation and other related challenges of the post-truth era, and devising short, medium and long-term strategic processes in the total fight against disinformation.”

Referring to recent protests in Iran, Esmaili said “they have turned a completely normal issue into an excuse to create a harsh media climate against Iran.”

He accused a campaign of “disinformation, lies and distortions” behind the events.

Iran has found itself in the midst of mass protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody last month.

Amini died on Sept. 16 under mysterious circumstances after being detained by the morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating Iran’s Islamic dress code.

Iranian officials have attempted to cast the young woman’s death as the result of a heart attack she suffered while in custody, but that explanation has fallen flat with protesters and her family saying she was brutally beaten to death.

Esmaili said: “We have been heavily exposed to this issue.”

Urging solidarity among the OIC nations, the Iranian minister said the Islamic countries “should stand by each other.”

“Any other country can face this problem tomorrow,” he warned.

“By cooperating together, we can thwart the West’s efforts to stop the development of the Islamic countries, with which we have a clash of civilizations. We should ask Islamic countries to cooperate in this way in a fair manner and by following the principle of brotherhood,” Esmaili emphasized.