Her claim was direct and unambiguous:
“Two months before the 1400 elections, IRIB officials officially told me that they wanted Ebrahim Raisi to win the elections… The only thing that didn’t matter in IRIB was professionalism.”
This statement cut deeply into the heart of IRIB’s reputation. As Iran’s official national broadcaster, IRIB is constitutionally obligated to remain neutral and serve all citizens equally. Yet, Hashemi’s account implied a deliberate institutional bias—one that subordinated journalistic integrity to political preference.
Her choice of words—“the only thing that didn’t matter in IRIB was professionalism”—summarized a sentiment that many Iranian journalists, both current and former, have quietly expressed for years. But for a long-time employee and on-screen figure like Hashemi to say it publicly was extraordinary.
The claim reverberated across Iranian media, with reformist outlets amplifying her statement and conservative commentators dismissing it as “personal dissatisfaction.” Nevertheless, the impact was undeniable: a seasoned insider had broken the silence about IRIB’s politicized editorial culture.
