Iran closes four publications

The Iranian government has closed four publications including the reformist daily Shargh, or East (circulation 100,000), which was shut down indefinitely because the newspaper refused to replace its director and because it published a cartoon considered offensive to the government. Also closed was Nameh, or Letter, a journal published by religious nationalistic opposition groups, with no reason given for its closure. The two other journals closed were Hafez and Khatereh. According to the New York Times, "Hafez was a literary and historical monthly that had published articles about a former monarch of Iran." The Iranian news media has come under increasing pressure since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election a year ago.