AFP reported yesterday that Iran's Press Supervisory Board has ordered Hamshahri, the country's largest circulation newspaper, closed down because it published a photo on its front page of a Baha'i temple. The photo was part of an ad encouraging tourists to visit the Baha'i shrine. Iran's 300,000 Baha'is have been discriminated against over the years, and the religion is not recognized as a minority religion by Iran. (Background.) However, according to an AP report, Hamshahri, run by the municipality of Tehran, has also been critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tehran's mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, is a critic and rival of Ahmadinejad. Over 120 pro-reform newspapers have been ordered closed since 2000.
UPDATE: An Iranian news agency says that courts have lifted the ban on Hamshahri one day after it was imposed. (Fresno Bee, 11/24.)
