Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) is the official news agency of the Iranian government. It used to operate as Pars News Agency. The agency produces news content in 10 languages. IRNA also publishes several newspapers, the most prominent being Iran, which is known in the country to be the official government newspaper.
Media assets
News agency: IRNA
Print: Iran, Iran Daily, Alvefagh, Irane Varzeshi, Irane Sepid
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
IRNA is a state-owned news agency that is subordinated to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. The minister of culture appoints the head of IRNA, who holds the entire power at the agency. As part of a reform of the state media in Iran, the culture minister in October 2021 appointed Ali Naderi, an ultraconservative journalist who said that IRNA was going to be a news agency of the political system, which in Iran means Khamenei.
Source of funding and budget
IRNA is financed through a combination of state subsidies and commercially generated revenues. The company doesn’t publish financial reports. According to local experts, most of the budget at IRNA (over 80%) comes from the government.
Editorial independence
As an official state news agency, IRNA has a mission to promote the interests, policies and views of the Iranian government. The agency is routinely described as a propaganda outlet of the Iranian government.
No domestic statute or independent assessment mechanism to validate the editorial independence of IRNA and its newspaper have been identified.
August 2023