What is it?
Kayhan (Persian pronunciation Keyhân, "universe, cosmos") is a Persian-language daily newspaper published in Tehran. According to its Wikipedia entry, the paper was founded in February 1943 by Abdolrahman Faramarzi and Mostafa Mesbahzadeh. After the 1979 revolution, it became a state-backed publication under the Kayhan Institute, and its heads have since been appointed directly by the Supreme Leader.
In Farsçadan's source tags, Kayhan is labeled "Hardline (Supreme Leader's line)." The label reflects how the paper is commonly described.
How does it work?
The paper's editor-in-chief is Hossein Shariatmadari. According to Radio Farda, Shariatmadari, a member of the Revolutionary Guards, has held the post since 1993 and was appointed by then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A 2007 New York Times report cited in the Wikipedia entry says Shariatmadari's official title is "representative of the Supreme Leader."
The Wikipedia entry describes Kayhan as "the most conservative and hard-line Iranian newspaper" and as the print outlet of the principlist faction. Radio Farda calls the paper the "main mouthpiece" of Khamenei and his hardline allies, and writes that many observers read what appears in Kayhan as a reflection of the Supreme Leader's opinions. The paper's English-language edition is Kayhan International. Kayhan London, published in London, is a separate monarchist publication with no ties to the Tehran paper.
Why does it matter?
Kayhan's editorials and headlines are a commonly used gauge of how the hardline core of the system approaches a debate. On nuclear talks, the Strait of Hormuz and domestic disputes, the paper's stance can differ sharply from that of the government and the moderate press. Farsçadan shows how the same event is framed in Kayhan and in other outlets in its framing-comparison tables. Kayhan often bases its reports on agencies such as Tasnim and Fars, so the way it presents an event also offers insight into the views of circles close to the security institutions.
Debates
The paper has at times clashed with official policy as well. According to Radio Farda, Kayhan was suspended for two days in November 2017 over the headline "Ansarallah's missile fired at Riyadh; the next target, Dubai." Tehran's prosecutor ruled that the headline contradicted Iran's security and regional policy. The Wikipedia entry also lists articles the paper published that drew international criticism, including a piece in August 2022 praising the man who attacked the author Salman Rushdie. The paper describes itself as a publication defending the ideology of the Islamic Revolution.
