‎“Write that this trip was not successful and that it had no achievements.” This was order ‎of Iran’s National Security Council to Iranian media that planned to provide any coverage ‎of US president George W. Bush’s recent trip to the Middle East. ‎

Following Bush’s arrival in the Middle East, the National Security Council issued this ‎memorandum and forwarded it to offices of all newspapers and journals in Iran ordering ‎them not to cover any parts of Bush’s trip to the region or the U.S. President’s remarks. ‎

According to the instructions, newspapers were banned from publishing any parts of ‎Bush’s remarks during his visit to Arab nations and Israel’s capital, in the latter of which ‎he held a news conference with the Israeli prime minister. But by the time the ‎memorandum was issued, several newspapers had already covered parts of Bush’s ‎remarks. ‎

Publications are required to abide by memorandums issued by the National Security ‎Council, and will face suspension if they fail to do so. ‎

The National Security Council’s recommendations, however, did not end here. The ‎Council asked newspapers and journals in a follow up correspondence to publish news, ‎analyses and interviews about Bush’s trip, but conclude that the trip was not successful ‎and report that Bush had failed to secure the support of Arab nations. ‎

The request was made despite the fact that Iran is not the only focus of Bush’s trip to the ‎Middle East. The U.S. President held talks with Arab and Israeli leaders about several ‎regional matters. Nevertheless, publications are limited to portraying a failed picture of ‎Bush’s trip to the region. ‎

It is not the first time that Iran’s National Security Council issues such memoranda. In ‎the first memorandum issued after the appointment of Jalili as the head of the National ‎Security Council, publications were asked not to mention Larijani’s disagreements with ‎Ahmadinejad as a possible reason for the former’s resignation. ‎

In recent past, the National Security Council has issued dozens of memoranda laying ‎down restrictions on covering various issues, most importantly Iran’s nuclear dossier. ‎

And since the National Security Council does not have legislative powers, what it asks of ‎the media does not have to be followed up by newspapers. Nevertheless, the Council’s ‎formidable influence can bring about the suspension of any publication, which is why ‎newspaper heed to the demands of the Council. ‎