Fars News Agency

Fars (Persian خبرگزاری فارس, English Fars News Agency, FNA) is an Iranian news agency.

The Agency brings news from politics, economy, culture, society, law, sports, military and other fields. It maintains services in Farsi, Turkish, Arabic and English. Fars is formally independent, but is considered as standing under the influence of the Revolutionary Guard. A link to the Revolutionary Guard is denied by Fars.

Fars was founded in early 2003. The existing English language section in December 2005 took after a test phase on 21 March 2006 on its official operation. Much older is the official News Agency Islamic Republic News Agency.

According to a former employee of Fars influence of the Revolutionary Guard is grown with inauguration of the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad since 2005 and have been released, many independent journalists. Iranian dissidents report that during interrogations to which they were subjected in 2007, have been employees of Fars present and to have co-written. In spring 2009, Fars founded the association " Tavana ", a journalistic training center for young members of the Basij -e Mostaz'afin. As protests against the evaluation of the presidential election of 12 June 2009 anwuchsen, Fars dismissed in July of 39 as not applicable linientreu journalists and replaced them with newly trained forces. In September 2009, two photographers fled the Agency in Turkey and applied for asylum. They had previously opposed the transfers pictures taken by opposition meetings and these are sold anonymously to foreign news agencies, which is why they were warned by senior news editor and then fled without their families from Iran.