It has been more than 35 years since the Islamic revolution culminated with the slogan "freedom and republicanism" and 17 years since Iran s newspapers were recognized for the first time as the fourth pillar of civil society and as the columns of democracy under then-president Mohammad Khatami. Today, the Islamic Republic s newspapers are experiencing conditions as bad as those during after the 1907 - 1907 Constitutional Revolution and the 1953 coup against then-prime minister Mohammad Mossadeq.

Over the years, Iran has maintained a consistent response to persistent criticisms of its human rights record. If a report condemning Iran's woeful human rights record is issued by an NGO, such as Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International, a statement is issued accusing the group of "toadying to the US and Israel." Their evidence is discredited as unsubstantiated and biased, as having been collected from "anti-Iranian outlets and terrorist groups." If the criticism comes from a foreign government then Iran has developed a strategy of drawing attention to double standards.