The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran has cemented its position globally as a historic event. This is while many Western media outlets have terminological difficulties with defining this grand historic phenomenon.

The appearance of new literature focusing on the theory of the Islamic Revolution has its own particular complexities in that it is not compatible with the common Western vocabulary. This is chiefly because of the fact that the revitalization of the theory of Islam has been put in the shades for decades and Western nations do not have a clear-cut definition of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic.

Being aware of such ambiguities, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Beheshti, a scholar of the Islamic Revolution who was deeply familiar with the standpoint of Western nations, proposed the establishment of an English newspaper in Iran.

Although dailies were also printed in Iran in international languages before the Islamic Revolution, there were no newspapers that could acquaint the Western readers with the terminology and the literature of the Islamic Revolution. Thus, with the initiative of this enlightened figure, who was later assassinated by the terrorists affiliated to the People’s Mojahedin Organization, the Tehran Times was given birth as a non-governmental newspaper on May 5, 1980. The aim of the paper was to spread the values of the revolution and to create spiritual and moral connections to the world’s truth-seeking readers.

The Tehran Times was welcomed, both inside and outside the country, by the elites and scholars who rendered it as a prominent newspaper conformed to world standards.

The Tehran Times does not seek to justify government policies; rather, it seeks to familiarize the reader with the reality of the events taking shape in Iran; a task the Tehran Times has succeeded to accomplish thanks to its dedicated and professional staff, while standing away from personal political orientations.

For the independence exercised by the Tehran times, different governments in Iran have never been able to use the paper over the last 36 years to confront opposition groups. Unlike state media, the Tehran Times has always pursued a clear path: avoiding overstatements, keeping away from political orientations prevalent in the country, and above all, presenting a genuine reflection of the truth of the Islamic Iran.

To fulfill its objectives, the English-language newspaper has faced numerous challenges, as it would be a predicament for a paper to keep up with its intentions without reliance on political parties or groups. Yet, thanks to its independent editorial personnel and under its clear and well-defined policies, the newspaper succeeded to continue taking such a complex path that was filled with obvious difficulties, and has now booked itself as one of the country’s leading newspapers.

Despite the obvious fact that there have certainly been shortcomings, the Tehran Times strives to satisfy the demands of its readers with an entirely professional literature.

A development plan for the Tehran Times is now on the agenda, the details of which will be publicized in the near future. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the loyal staff of the Tehran Times who have spared no efforts in the past thirty-six years, and would like to announce that the Tehran Times would welcome criticism on its performance with open arms.

MD/P