Media In Forefront Of Soft War Against Enemy: Culture Min.

Tehran, May 17, IRNA – In this era of soft war and war of thoughts the media have an important role in Iran’s confrontation with the West, Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Sayed Mohammad Hosseini said here Wednsday. Hosseini made the remarks in a ceremony held to praise the masters of Iranian media during the past decades. “All Iranians, active in different fields and in particular those involved in the media should abandon their differences and think of their nation prosper and progress.” “Unfortunately, the hegemonic powers and the imperialism use media as a propaganda machine to control the mass opinion and show a negative picture of Islam and Iran to their audiences.” Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mehdi Ghazanfari and some of the Iranian media masters, as well as the managers of Iran’s news agencies including the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) Chief and President Press Advisor Ali-Akbar Javanfekr were present at the ceremony. The Iranian officials believe the country's enemies have engaged in a soft war against the Islamic Republic to target the values of the Islamic Revolution. They say, “The main aim of the enemy's soft war is to change the values and beliefs of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.” “Change in beliefs will bring about change in behavior; the political system of a country can be rattled with a change in behavior; the Iranians believe in God. 'The Iranian officials have always warned against the enemies' plots aimed at waging a soft war campaign against the Islamic Republic, urging the nation to remain vigilant in confronting such attempts,' the official stressed. “Soft war” is a term used by the Iranian officials to refer to the cultural invasion and 'soft intelligence' tactics used by foreign countries deemed hostile. The Media of Iran are privately and publicly owned but subject to the control of the government. Most Iranian newspapers are published in Persian, but newspapers in English and other languages also exist./end