Analysis & Opinions - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

How the Iranian Media Distort that Country's Nuclear Lens

| September 16, 2014

Few topics preoccupy Iranians more than the ongoing nuclear talks between their country and the P5+1 (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany). The nuclear issue is on every single Iranian’s radar. This is not because they really care about the number of centrifuges spinning at Natanz, their country's controversial enrichment plant. But the nuclear dossier has impacted every aspect of their lives. It has dictated Iran's approach to foreign policy and governed domestic politics for over a decade. Yet most Iranians know very little about the nature of the nuclear program or its costs, benefits, and challenges.

Very broadly speaking, Iran's stated goal in the international negotiations is to be allowed to enrich uranium for nuclear energy development, while the foreign powers wish to limit uranium enrichment out of concern that it could be diverted to a weapons program. Iranians receive most of their information on the subject from two sources: Persian-language media based abroad—mainly BBC Persian and Voice of America Persian—and domestic media outlets, including newspapers and television. Most Iranian news websites have a "nuclear" section that covers the negotiations....

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For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation: Tabatabai, Ariane.“How the Iranian Media Distort that Country's Nuclear Lens.” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, September 16, 2014.

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