| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Editor | Mohammad Ghouchani |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Tehran |
| Official website | http://www.sharghnewspaper.ir |
Shargh (شرق in Persian, meaning East in English) is the most popular reformist newspaper in Iran. It is managed by Mehdi Rahmanian, and its chief editor was Mohammad Ghouchani in its first period of publication. Mohammad Ghouchani and Mohammad Atrianfar, its ex-head of "Policy-making Council", leave Shargh in March 2007 and joined Ham-Mihan, another reformist newspaper managed by Gholamhossein Karbaschi.
Some people claim that the newspaper has a hidden agenda of helping the political goals of the Executives of Construction Party (Hezb-e Kaargozaaraan-e Saazandegi), including trying to nominate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani for the 2005 Iranian presidential election and then making him win the popular vote.
Shargh had published 141 editions before the temporary ban by the Iranian judiciary system on February 18, 2004, one day before the parliament election, after publishing an open letter from some members of the outgoing parliament to Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader. The letter was read to journalists by Mohsen Armin, one of the organizers of the MPs sit-in criticizing the vettings of the Council of Guardians.
The situation got more interesting when Mehdi Rahmanian, Shargh's manager in charge, met Saeed Mortazavi, Tehran's general prosecutor, the next day to discuss a removal of the ban. After that, Rahmanian wrote a public letter asking for forgiveness, saying that he couldn't confirm that the letter was actually from the MPs and signed by them, and that even in the case it was, it would have been a non-professional act to publish "offensive" texts.
Mortazavi announced that he had ordered the ban because of a request by the High Council of National Security, which Hassan Rowhani, the council's chair, and Mohammad Khatami, the president, later denied on February 20 and February 23 respectively, mentioning the matter was not even discussed at the council's meeting.
The ban was removed on February 28, 2004, and Shargh was published again from March 3, 2004.
Shargh was shut down again on September 11, 2006 by the Iranian government. [1]
In March 2007, Iran's hardline judiciary allowed a number of banned reformist dailies to republish, including the flagship centrist daily Shargh after a half-year ban. [2] However, as of April 2009, the links to its website do not work and sources inside Iran say the paper is no longer in operation.