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Iran's parliament on 16 August 2026 approved the general framework of a bill that would criminalise interviews and discussions with media outlets designated hostile to the Islamic Republic, naming US and Israeli outlets and entities financed by them.
Participation in such discussions would carry six months to two years in prison; interviews with other foreign media would have to be notified to the intelligence ministry.
Contact with foreign embassies or foreign organisations without written permission from the foreign ministry would attract fines and loss of certain social rights.
Policy or legislative proposals made at the direction of foreign intelligence services and harming Iran's security would carry up to 30 years in prison, tried in the Revolutionary Courts.
Only the general principles have been approved — individual clauses still face debate, and the Guardian Council must vet the final text before it can become law.
Iran's unicameral legislature with 290 seats, including five reserved for recognised religious minorities; the 12th legislature took office in May 2024
A 12-member constitutional body that must vet every bill passed by the Majlis for compatibility with the Constitution and Islamic law; six members are clerics appointed by the Supreme Leader and six are jurists nominated by the head of the judiciary and approved by parliament
Resolves deadlock when the Majlis and the Guardian Council cannot agree on a bill, and advises the Supreme Leader
Special courts created after the 1979 Islamic Revolution that try security-related, political and certain economic offences
Iran's principal civilian intelligence agency, formally the Ministry of Intelligence and Security; the bill makes its consent a precondition for several kinds of foreign contact
Iran's system layers an unelected constitutional filter over an elected legislature. The Majlis is directly elected, but nothing it passes becomes law until the 12-member Guardian Council certifies that the text conforms both to the Constitution and to Islamic law. The Council can return a bill for amendment; if the Majlis refuses to change it, the deadlock goes to the Expediency Discernment Council. The same Guardian Council also vets who may stand for election to the Majlis and the presidency, which is why it is often described as the gatekeeper of the Iranian system rather than merely a reviewing chamber.
Simple Analogy: Think of a bill in Iran as clearing two gates rather than one: the elected house votes it through the first, but a second, appointed gate can hold it shut on either constitutional or religious grounds.
GS Paper II > International Relations — Effect of policies of developed and developing countries on India's interests; comparison of constitutional schemes
General Awareness > Current Affairs — International
General Awareness > Current Events of National and International Importance
The Islamic Consultative Assembly, Iran's 290-member unicameral parliament
A 12-member body — six clerics appointed by the Supreme Leader, six jurists nominated by the judiciary — that vets legislation and election candidates in Iran
Special Iranian courts set up after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to try security, political and certain economic offences
The stage at which Iran's parliament approves a bill in principle, before debating and voting on its individual clauses