In the past four decades, a harsh media war has been waged against the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to paint an unreal picture of Iran for the world public opinion. In such circumstances, the media outlets of the Islamic Republic of Iran have tried to present the true face of the Islamic Iran to the world in an asymmetrical media warfare.

The Tehran Times has a special place among Iran’s visual, audio, and written media outlets. This newspaper, which was founded according to the idea of Martyr Dr. Beheshti, is a tribune that reflects clear and truthful news reports and analyses provided by a professional staff.

What has helped strengthen the position and authority of the Tehran Times in competition with other media outlets is a continuation of the publication of the newspaper in the past four decades despite all the ups and downs that the written media outlets have faced. The obstacles and problems have never been able to thwart the Tehran Times to move forward. The continuation of the publication of the newspaper on the one hand and production of professional, evidence-based reports, on the other hand, have led the Tehran Times to continue to be noteworthy among embassies and other media outlets and to be regarded among professional international newspapers. The interesting point about the Tehran Times is its comprehensive outlook in covering Iran’s news and events. At first glance, it might be interpreted that the Tehran Times is merely a media outlet to reflect the political happenings of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but with a closer look, one would realize that it strives to analyze and review the economic, social, cultural and sporting events of the Islamic Iran.

From this perspective, the Tehran Times has played an undeniable role in introducing and expanding Iran’s soft power through its comprehensive outlook. Everyone knows that Iran, with its ancient civilizational culture, has always been at the forefront of peace, friendship and fair relationship with states and nations throughout history. Such a view has been institutionalized in Iran’s culture and history, and this is exactly the same important and pivotal matter that some countries and foreign media outlets are trying to demonstrate upside down. Such countries and their affiliated media outlets are trying to depict Iran as a warlike country that seeks to disrupt stability and tranquility in the region. Given such an atmosphere, the Tehran Times, with its comprehensive outlook and introduction of Iran’s rich cultural and civilizational elements has been pushing for friendship among nations. It has been striving to show to the world that the Islamic Iran has always been a promoter of peace and friendship in international relations and is against any aggression and inequality. Through such an approach, the Tehran Times is a media outlet that makes use of Iran’s rich cultural elements. It is regarded as Iran’s cultural attaché and such achievement has come out of the tireless efforts by the editorial board of the Tehran Times, which continue uninterrupted.

Happy the fortieth anniversary of the Tehran Times.