Censored war: the crackdown on journalists is intensifying from the Gulf to Jordan

"Photography serves the enemy" - this hashtag launched in Saudi Arabia in early March sums up the campaign waged by the authorities to criminalise coverage of the war's impact in Iran, under the pretext of protecting national security. Including visuals depicting cameras as weapons and propaganda leaflets, the campaign was accompanied by a government statement on 2 March that banned "sharing rumours or videos whose sources are unknown" and urged the public to trust "only official government sources."

On the same day, photos and videos taken by members of the public and posted online appeared to contradict government statements that no missiles had penetrated the country's defences. Faced with images of a fire at the Ras Tanura oil refinery on the Gulf, the government backtracked, acknowledging that a missile had struck the site. While the authorities continue to deny any other war-related damage, journalists have been unable to visit alleged impact sites to verify the facts. Nineteen journalists are currently detained in Saudi Arabia, which is ranked 166th out of 180 countries and territories in RSF's World Press Freedom Index.

Contagious persecution

The same pattern is being seen in all Gulf countries and Jordan, and aims to prohibit the reporting and sharing of any information about Iranian missile and drone strikes targeting these countries or intercepted on their territory.

• In the United Arab Emirates (164th in RSF's Index),the attorney-general has banned the posting of images or information about the strikes. In February, before the war, the UAE had already tightened its monitoring of social media posts in response to tension with Saudi Arabia in connection with the two countries' handling of the political situation in neighbouring Yemen. Under the mechanism established at that time - calling on citizens to report any online content deemed suspicious - denunciation of war-related posts has increased since the start of the war in Iran. On 3 March, for example, several users, including journalists, reported receiving emails from the X platform informing them that their accounts had been blocked in the UAE. Widely shared screenshots show a message mentioning a letter allegedly sent by the public prosecutor's office asking the platform to block a list of accounts. They include the Saudi television channel Al Arabiya, which has nearly 20 million subscribers. RSF has learned that the channel is accused of encouraging internet users based in the UAE to send it images of Iranian airstrikes intercepted over Dubai. Al Arabiya, for its part, issued a statement rejecting these accusations and claiming that it had been impersonated in posts on some accounts with the aim of spreading rumours about it in the UAE.

• In Bahrain (157th in RSF's Index),journalists' access to affected areas is tightly restricted: they can only enter after the security forces have completed their investigations. On the ground, coverage is also hampered by a climate of fear. Following the arrest of more than 11 people - for "filming military sites and posting content sympathetic to Iranian aggression," according to the interior Ministry - many people are now refusing to speak to the media.

• In Qatar (79th in RSF's Index), the interior ministry has banned taking photos and sharing content related to the airstrikes since the start of the war. "It is impossible to go out with a camera in the street," a journalist based in the capital, Doha, told RSF, describing the situation in Qatar as increasingly difficult for reporters.

• In Kuwait (128th in RSF's Index), the interior ministry has called on the public not to post images or information related to the airstrikes, claiming that they could sow chaos and destabilise public opinion. Restrictions on journalists have thereby been further tightened: any photo or comment that deviates from the official government version can now expose journalists to prosecution, making it even harder for them to work outside the framework established by the authorities.

• In Jordan (ranked 147th in RSF's Index), the Media Commission has announced that posting any video or information related to the kingdom's defence operations could result in prosecution by the authorities.

Harassment continues in Iran, Israel and Lebanon

In neighbouring Iran, journalists continue to be persecutedby the authorities and must contend with a severe internet blackout while trying to provide independent coverage of the US-Israeli offensive against their country. The Iranian judiciary tightened restrictions even more on 10 March. The official IRNA news agency quoted judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir as saying that several news outlets that published photos or videos from certain sites "for informational purposes" had received warnings for violating security regulations. He warned that repeat offences would result in legal action. RSF has learned that, a few hours later, government officials announced the arrest of 30 people - none of them journalists - for sharing information. The intelligence agency of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also reported that ten people who had provided videos to media outlets had been arrested. Meanwhile, draconian military censorship lawsin Israel have for years restricted news reporting by both Israeli and foreign media operating within the country.