In his latest criticism of a recent wave of anti-Western arrests, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani publicly condemned his country’s conservative media outlets on Sunday, suggesting ties between some of them and security forces making the arrests. The speech, reported by The New York Times, called some hardline media “undercover police” who “even tell their audience who is going to be arrested tomorrow.”
Rouhani’s comments came days after he reportedly condemned in a cabinet meeting last Wednesday the arrests of five activists and journalists accused by the Revolutionary Guards of subversion and ties to the CIA. The Wall Street Journal quoted Rouhani as saying that the arrests were made without a valid pretext and blown out of proportion. (READ MORE)
