Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has authorized Parliament to investigate the workings of the state radio and television networks, reported the official Iranian news agency (IRNA).
Khamenei, who appointed the heads of both official media outlets, gave the green light for the probe in a letter to parliamentary speaker Mehdi Karubi, who had sought to block the bid for an investigation.
Parliamentary deputies, who are overwhelmingly reformist, are seeking to call to account the television and radio networks which Khamenei controls, and which are seen as the private domain of the conservatives.
Karubi's earlier attempts to block the move resulted in a brawl between reformist and conservative deputies.
Khamenei told Karubi that “auditing by the Parliament in every national affair is among the best means for securing the sound performance of the country's national institutions.”
The leader stressed that the existence of such an article in the country's constitution was among its points of strength, adding that it was a blessing for the state-run media to benefit from the positive aspects of that advanced article, IRNA quoted him as saying – Albawaba.com
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