Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has instructed domestic media outlets to refrain from publishing what it described as biased or false reports about Venezuela, according to a directive reviewed by Iran International.
The directive, circulated to editors and media managers, warned that Western media coverage of Venezuela in recent weeks and months formed part of what it called a US-led campaign of economic and psychological pressure against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Without citing specific examples, the council said such reporting aimed to wage “psychological warfare” and urged Iranian media to verify information before publication and avoid highlighting narratives that could, in its words, reinforce US pressure on the Venezuelan state and population.
The Supreme National Security Council, chaired by President Masoud Pezeshkian, did not specify which reports it considered misleading or inaccurate.
Iranian authorities have repeatedly issued editorial guidance to domestic media over coverage of foreign policy issues, national security matters and relations with the United States and its allies.
Several such directives, including earlier instructions on how to report remarks by US President Donald Trump in Israel’s Knesset, have previously been obtained by Iran International.
Iran and Venezuela have maintained close political, economic and security ties for years, dating back to the presidency of Hugo Chavez. The relationship has deepened as both countries face US sanctions and diplomatic isolation.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently criticized US pressure on Venezuela and condemned the seizure of a Venezuelan-linked oil tanker in the Caribbean.
President Pezeshkian also reaffirmed Tehran’s support for Caracas in a recent phone call with Maduro, describing Venezuela as a “friend and ally.”
Tehran and Caracas signed a 20-year cooperation agreement in 2022 covering sectors including energy, trade and industry. Both governments have also acknowledged cooperation in defense-related fields, though details remain limited.
Western governments and research institutions have reported that Iran has assisted Venezuela with drone technology and energy infrastructure, allegations that both countries have either denied or declined to comment on.
The United States has closely monitored Iran-Venezuela ties. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in recent comments that Venezuela served as a platform for Iranian influence in Latin America, remarks rejected by both Tehran and Caracas.
Iran’s foreign ministry has said it supports the Venezuelan government, which faces ongoing international disputes over electoral legitimacy. The United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries do not recognize Maduro’s current administration.
Abolfazl Shekarchi, the armed forces’ cultural deputy, said a “wide spy network” had taken shape over several years with significant investment in training and organization.
“A large network of spies and enemy agents had been formed, and years of effort and heavy costs were spent to build it,” Shekarchi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.
Shekarchi said the arrests started months before the fighting and continued through the end of the war.
“From a few months before the start of this war, because of the readiness in place, until the end of the war, around 2,000 of these agents were arrested,” he said.
He said rebuilding such networks would take time. “Reconstructing a network like this is not simple and requires years of time and cost,” Shekarchi said.
'Severe punishment'
Iran’s judiciary chief also cited roughly the same number of arrests in comments made in July, and said some detainees could face execution if convicted of working with Israel.
“In our law, anyone who cooperates with a hostile state during wartime must be arrested and prosecuted,” judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said in an interview with state TV.
“Some of these individuals face severe punishments, including the death penalty,” he said, adding that others could receive lighter sentences or be released after investigation.
US cites executions, student case draws rights focus
The US State Department said on Tuesday that Iranian authorities executed more than 17 prisoners within 48 hours, including Aghil Keshavarz, a 27-year-old architecture student convicted of spying for Israel.
“Only in 48 hours, the Islamic Republic regime executed more than 17 prisoners,” the US State Department said in a post on its Persian-language account.
Iran’s judiciary said Keshavarz was executed after the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence and legal procedures were completed.
The execution prompted condemnation on social media and renewed focus by rights groups on Iran’s use of the death penalty in national security cases linked to alleged cooperation with Israel.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency said on Monday that at least 17 people have been executed in Iran over the past two days in prisons across Iran.
Iranian media said the satellites would be launched at 1648 local time (1318 GMT) aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s far east. The payload includes Paya, also known as Tolou-3, Zafar-2 and a prototype satellite known as Kowsar-1.5.
Paya (Tolou-3) is Iran’s heaviest Earth-observation satellite to date, weighing about 150 kg, with imaging resolution of around five meters for black-and-white images and about 10 meters for color imagery, Iranian officials have said.
The satellite, made by the Iranian Space Agency, is designed for applications including agriculture monitoring, water resource management, environmental monitoring and disaster assessment.
Zafar-2, developed by Iran University of Science and Technology, is also an Earth-observation satellite intended for mapping, environmental monitoring and tracking natural hazards.
The Kowsar-1.5 satellite is a combined platform integrating imaging and internet-of-things capabilities, aimed primarily at smart agriculture and farm monitoring.
The Iranian satellites will be launched alongside a large cluster of mainly Russian spacecraft into a sun-synchronous low Earth orbit.
According to launch data, the mission also includes Russian Earth-observation satellites such as Aist-2T and Zorkiy-2M units, multiple Marafon and SITRO satellites designed for internet-of-things and ship-tracking services, as well as university-built and technology demonstration satellites from Russia and partner countries including Belarus, Kuwait and Montenegro.
Iran says its space activities are civilian and focused on scientific and economic uses, though Western governments argue that satellite launch technologies overlap with those used for long-range ballistic missiles.
Iran has increasingly relied on Russian launch services in recent years, even as it develops domestic launch sites and heavier rockets.
“The fight against narcotics and alcoholic beverages must be a priority, because the enemy is using these areas as tools to undermine security and strike at society,” Mohammad Movahedi said at a meeting of senior judiciary officials.
Speaking at a session focused on security and judicial coordination, Movahedi warned that after failing to achieve their aims through military confrontation, Iran’s enemies were shifting toward what he described as efforts to foment social dissatisfaction and ethnic tension.
He stressed the need for vigilance, closer cooperation with the public, and what he called “people-based intelligence” to counter internal threats.
Movahedi also urged tougher action against smuggling and economic corruption, called for stronger border controls including the expansion of X-ray screening at customs points, and highlighted the importance of reducing prison populations through alternatives to incarceration for non-security offenses.
Alcohol is illegal in Iran under Islamic Republic law and carries penalties including fines, flogging and imprisonment, but it is widely consumed.
Despite periodic crackdowns, homemade and smuggled alcohol remains common, particularly in large cities, and alcohol poisoning outbreaks linked to illicit production have repeatedly highlighted the gap between strict legal bans and social reality.
