War in Iran: journalism in crisis as access to information restricted and reporters work amid bombs

The Iranian regime's relentless crackdown on media professionals is now compounded by the reality of living and working under air strikes. The U.S.-Israeli offensive launched on Saturday 28 February against Iran killed 787 people, according to the Iranian Red Crescent, including several Iranian commanders and the dictator Ali Khamenei. "Journalists are working under foreign bombs and receiving menacing phone calls from the authorities," an independent journalist told RSF. Afraid of reprisals, he requested anonymity. "This political pressure hasn't stopped with the war. On the contrary, it has intensified since the announcement of Khamenei's death." The journalist is one of many reporters who have had to evacuate Tehran, the Iranian capital. However the city he fled to was hit by heavy strikes. "The attacks were very intense," the journalist said. "The terrifying sounds of explosions and fighter jets continued until around 2 a.m., then they restarted at about 8 a.m., when we were woken up by the sound of another explosion."

In addition to airstrikes and intimidating calls, journalists in Iran are also being threatened with arrest. On several occasions, the Iranian state television channel announced that any activity deemed to be "advantageous to the enemy" would be severely punished. "No independent journalist is allowed to work," said a second journalist based in Tehran. "Even those [reporters] who went to explosion-affected areas, with government permission, were sometimes briefly detained, and had all their photos deleted."

A shortage of information

These threats come amid a near-total media blackoutin place since the protests that swept across the country in December 2025. Although some journalists have occasional internet connection depending on their location and mobile operator, broadly speaking internet access remains restricted. This censorship is also targeted: "Journalists and media outlets that echo the government's narrative generally have access to unfiltered internet and SIM cards. However, independent journalists are subject to severe restrictions," the reporter who left Tehran told RSF. As a result, there is a shortage of information and reports are "vague and imprecise," according to the Tehran-based journalist. Her colleague agrees: "You only have to read the newspapers to see the repression. For example, although journalists at one Iranian daily have no affection for Khamenei, the outlet published nothing but praise about him. There was no mention that the streets were filled with people celebrating his death. We are devastated by the missiles and the deaths of civilians," the journalist added, "but genuinely relieved to learn of the dictator's death."

From Iran to Lebanon, journalists are under pressure

Since the start of the offensive, Iran has retaliated with strikes on neighbouring Gulf countries: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait. According to RSF information, journalists in the region have struggled to report on the attacks from some of these countries, whose authorities are known to exert strict control over the flow of information. Air raid sirens have also sounded in Jordan, and missiles have been fired at Israel from Iran and Lebanon. Missiles launched from southern Lebanon by Hezbollah on 2 March triggered an escalation of intense Israeli bombardments in the area. Several journalists in southern Lebanon and in the suburbs of the capital have been displaced and forced yet again to evacuate their homes under Israeli strikes.