The banning of Javad Khaibani’s activities on official media seems to be ruled out with the renowned broadcaster appearing on Channel 3 and also on Sports Network’s program.

Javad Khayani’s recent statements in one of the special talk shows of the Home Show Network, in which he quite fearlessly highlighted the economic plights of his countrymen, corruption in sports, and multiple system failures, had created speculations that his activities would be banned on television and also in other visual media.

But on Wednesday, the telecast of the friendly football match between the Manchester City and Bayern Munich teams ended those speculations with Khabani reporting on the game for the TV channel.

The Iranian regime has a habit of blanking its critics and forcing the media to stop publishing images or quotes. The most famous of these critics in recent times is none other than Ali Karimi, who has turned into a cult hero following his harsh criticism against the regime for the oppression of women and the wide corruption. Karimi, the former Captain of Team Melli, Bayern Munich, and Persepolis player left the country fearing for his life.

Khiabani, the veteran TV broadcaster, had some hard words for the authority in a recent TV show reflecting on the plight of Iranians and how the system prevents their progress in all fields.

After this harsh talk, there were calls by hardliners to ban Khiabani.

The regime is well-known to have zero tolerance for public criticism, even the constructive type. It is especially sensitive to celebrities, sports personalities, and Artists, many of whom have been banned for speaking out against the regime practices in the aftermath of Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody.

Adel Ferwosipour is another broadcaster who is currently on the blacklist and has not been seen on TV for a long time since his quite famous and controversial TV show ‘Navad’ has been taken off the air.

IRIB, the official government broadcasting apparatus, is under the control of Ayatollah Ali Khamenai’s office. Policies and direction are scrutinized and channeled toward being a propaganda machine for the Iranian regime., The TV programs have an immense amount of religious content and the screens are mostly colonized by the Shia clergy giving sermons to a population that is living under extremely harsh economical conditions.

Despite Khiabani’s brave words, some cynics in social media have accused the broadcaster and his masters of staging this show. Those people believe that there is no way anyone dares to talk so openly criticizing the system with the approval of the regime’s security agents who have permanent residency in the IRIB properties.

Iran is the 4th worst country on World Press Freedom Index with Vietnam, China, and North Korea being worse.