Category Archives: Iran

NBC's Curry on What 'Everyone' Knows About Iran

Posted on 01/30/2012 by Peter Hart

During an interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski (1/25/12), NBC's Today host Ann Curry said this: Well, one of the key topics that we have been hearing a lot about is all of this concern about Iran. You know what's been happening, … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, NBC | Tagged | 34 Comments

PBS, NPR Try to Defend Iran Distortions

Posted on 01/17/2012 by Peter Hart

Evaluating reporting and commentary about Iran could be reduced to one simple rule: There is no evidence that Iran is working on a nuclear weapon. Statements that suggest otherwise are misleading. Reports that fail to point this out are doing … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, NPR, PBS | Tagged , , , , , , , | 52 Comments

At WaPo, Editorial Page Can Make Up Iran Facts

Posted on 01/11/2012 by Peter Hart

Last month the group Just Foreign Policy alerted readers to a Washington Post feature that was headlined "Iran's Quest to Possess Nuclear Weapons." The Post changed the headline, and ombud Patrick Pexton weighed in with a column (12/7/11) saying that … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

PBS's Dishonest Iran Edit

Posted on 01/10/2012 by Peter Hart

As if tensions between the United States and Iran weren't high enough, here's PBS NewsHour anchor Margaret Warner (1/9/12): The Iranian government insists that its nuclear activities are for peaceful energy purposes only, an assertion disputed by the U.S. and … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Media Criticism, PBS | Tagged , , | 57 Comments

Action Alert: NYT Misinforms on Iran Crisis

Posted on 01/06/2012 by Jim Naureckas

FAIR's latest Action Alert (1/6/12) urges activists to contact the New York Times about its repeated assertions, contrary to the available evidence, that Iran has a nuclear weapons program. Feel free to leave copies of your messages to the Times … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Media Activism, New York Times | 39 Comments

CBS, Panetta and (Hypothetical) Iranian Nukes

Posted on 12/21/2011 by Peter Hart

The Monday broadcast of CBS Evening News (12/19/11) began with big news, with anchor Scott Pelley announcing: The secretary of Defense says tonight that the United States will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. In an interview with … Continue reading →

Posted in CBS, Election, Fox News, Iran | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

How Iran Assertions Turn Into 'Facts'

Posted on 12/08/2011 by Peter Hart

The New York Times today (12/8/11), reporting on the CIA drone that went down in Iran, refers in passing to the recent public debate in Israel about whether time is running out for a military strike to slow Iran's progress … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, New York Times | 3 Comments

Diamonds or Bombs? WaPo Is Only Skeptical on One Side

Posted on 11/15/2011 by Jim Naureckas

Joby Warrick's Washington Post article (11/14/11) on the new International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran goes wrong from the first sentence: When the Cold War abruptly ended in 1991, Vyacheslav Danilenko was a Soviet weapons scientist in need of … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran | Tagged , , , | 46 Comments

Reading the Iran Nuke Leaks

Posted on 11/08/2011 by Peter Hart

When the International Atomic Energy Agency is about to release a report on an official enemy like Iran, you can be fairly confident that contents of the report–or what people believe should be in it–will be leaked to elite newspapers … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Media Criticism, New York Times, Washington Post | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Great Moments in Fox News Assassination Plotting

Posted on 10/14/2011 by Peter Hart

Last night's O'Reilly Factor (10/13/11), with guest Megyn Kelly, talking about how to deal with Iran: BILL O'REILLY: What do we do? MEGYN KELLY: It's a political question for President Obama and a military question for him, but it's not … Continue reading →

Posted in Fox News, Iran | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

About That Iranian Plot…

Posted on 10/12/2011 by Peter Hart

Without further evidence, the alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States is rather hard to believe. See Glenn Greenwald's take, for example, to appreciate the need for skepticism about U.S. claims–and the eagerness of many … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Iran Helping Iraqi Insurgents…Make That Al-Qaeda

Posted on 07/29/2011 by Peter Hart

"Iran arming Iraq insurgents"was last month's story. Today's papers are telling a different story; the new line being pushed by U.S. officials is that Iran is supporting Al-Qaeda. Today's Washington Post: Iran Allows Money, Recruits to Reach Al-Qaeda, U.S. Says … Continue reading →

Posted in AP, Iran, New York Times, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Politico Uses Anonymous Sources to Attack Hersh…for Using Anonymous Sources

Posted on 06/03/2011 by Steve Rendall

Seymour Hersh reports in the New Yorker (6/6/11–subscription required) that there is s virtually no evidence Iran has a nuclear weapons program, despite huge efforts on the part of the U.S. to prove otherwise. Though Hersh's findings do not contradict … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet, Iran | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

The Curious Case of the CIA Whistleblower

Posted on 05/26/2011 by Peter Hart

Every so often reports surface about the Justice Department's prosecution of CIA whistleblower Jeffrey Sterling–often due to the government's attempts to convince New York Times reporter James Risen to testify about his interactions with Sterling. The Times reported on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Media Criticism, New York Times | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Libya, Lockerbie and the Fox/MSNBC Convergence

Posted on 03/22/2011 by Peter Hart

U.S. airstrikes in Libya have brought renewed focus on the 1988 explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Some are making the argument that the U.S. could–and should–be getting revenge for this act a mere 22 years later. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fox News, Iran, Libya, MSNBC | Tagged , , | 32 Comments