Correspondence Guidance Office or the Centre for Monitoring the Press Censure in Reza Shah Tenure

After 1921 coup by Reza Shah in Iran, the press were under immense pressure by the govern­ment, and were monitored and guided by the then army, A nine-article declaration, which was released soon after the coup d’etat, revealed the political prospect and power circle in Iran. The declaration addressed the press with the following tone: ‘The entire papers are banned before the government is shuffled, and will re-appear in terms of a subsequent decree and permission.” Thereafter, the police held contents of the press in check, especially when Rokn al Din Mokhtar commandeered the force. He set up, namely Correspondence Guidance Office in the Ministry of Interior, aimed to monitor the press, according to its charter. Editor of “Rouge Shafagh" Daily. Ali Dashti, headed the office, after he was freed from a detention in 1938. The Correspondence Guidance Office remained active three years later until 1941, and based on table of contents in this article, under horrific pressings of the Office, the papers and periodicals tumbled down to 49 titles in Iran. The author studies the establishment and performance of Correspondence Guid­ance Office at the same time.