Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting


The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is an Iranian state-controlled media corporation which holds a monopoly of domestic radio and television services in Iran, and is also among the largest media organizations in the Asian and Pacific regions, and a regular member of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. IRIB is independent of the Iranian government, but its head is appointed directly by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
With 13,000 employees and branches in 20 countries worldwide, including France, Belgium, Malaysia, Lebanon, United Kingdom, the United States, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting offers both domestic and foreign radio and television services, broadcasting 12 domestic television channels, 4 international news television channels, six satellite television channels for international audiences, and 30 provincial television channel available countrywide, half of which are broadcast in minority-status languages in Iran, for example Azeri and Kurdish, as well as local accents or dialects of Persian. The IRIB provides twelve radio stations for domestic audiences and through the IRIB World Service thirty radio stations are available for foreign and international audiences. It also publishes the Persian-language newspaper Jam-e Jam.

IRIB's place in Iran's civil code

According to Article 175 of the Iranian constitution,
  1. The freedom of expression and dissemination of thoughts in the Radio and Television of the Islamic Republic of Iran must be guaranteed in keeping with the Islamic criteria and the best interests of the country.
  2. The appointment and dismissal of the head of the Radio and Television of the Islamic Republic of Iran rests with the Leader. A council consisting of two representatives each of the President, the head of the judiciary branch, and the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Iranian parliament shall supervise the functioning of this organization.
  3. The policies and the manner of managing the organization and its supervision will be determined by law.
, Tehran
Prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, IRIB was known as National Iranian Radio and Television.
The constitution further specifies that the director of the organization is chosen directly by the Supreme Leader for five years, and the head of the judiciary branch, the president, and the Islamic Consultative Assembly oversee the organization. The first director after the 1979 Revolution was Sadeq Qotbzadeh. The current director is Abdulali Ali-Asghari. The previous directors included Mohammad Sarafraz, Ezzatollah Zarghami, Ali Larijani and Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Sima Festival is the biggest and most important TV productions contest sponsored annually by IRIB organization. Winners are the best producers, directors, actors and directors in various categories honored by organization's head and receive valuable prizes.

IRIB broadcast of false confessions

A study published in June 2020 by the Justice for Iran and the International Federation for Human Rights said Iranian television had broadcast the potentially coerced confessions of 355 detainees since 2010. Former prisoners said they had been beaten and received threats of sexual violence as a means for their false testimonies to be delivered for use by the country's broadcasters.

Facts about IRIB

The director general of IRIB is Dr. Abdol Ali Aliaskari, who was appointed by the Supreme Leader of Iran in 2016.
#PresidentYearsTime in post
1Reza Ghotbi1966–197913 years
2Sadegh Ghotbzadeh1979–19823 years
—Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha 1982–19842 years
3Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani1984–199410 years
4Ali Larijani1994–200410 years
5Ezzatollah Zarghami2004–201410 years
6Mohammad Sarafraz2014–20162 years
7Abdulali Ali-Asgari2016–presentin post

Sanctions

Pursuant to the United States Presidential Executive Order 13628, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is subjected to U.S. sanctions under Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act which gives the Treasury Department the authority to designate those in Iran who restrict or deny the free flow of information to or from the Iranian people.