The Islamic Republic has been making a major issue of his case, asserting that France doesn’t really believe in a free press and was trying to censor Najafzadeh. The reporter said he was told he could no longer go to the National Assembly or the Elysee Palace, the home of French presidents. The Fars news agency said the restrictions were imposed because France didn’t like Najafzadeh’s news coverage. No news outlet in Iran has pointed that Iran imposes much stiffer restrictions on foreign reporters, barring them from going out into the city streets during protests, for example, and effectively locking them in their offices. Nor did any Iranian news outlet point out that the restrictions were imposed on Najafzadeh just after Iran expelled the Tehran reporter for Agence France Presse. All in all, it would appear that France has decided on a tit-for-tat response to Iranian efforts to throttle reporting in Iran.
