The Iranian Parliament has voted against a draft bill that would authorize private broadcasting in the country, Mehr news agency reported April 9.

Iran’s only broadcasting organization, (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) has been the monopoly operator of television channels in Iran to date (and certainly since it emerged after the Islamic revolution of 1979), despite private demands for non-governmental channels to be authorized.

The bill that was rejected April 9 also included a proposal to turn the management of the IRIB over to a board of trustees. The IRIB chief is made through a direct decree by the Supreme Leader.

IRIB operates 12 domestic channels, 6 satellite TV channels and 30 provincial channels. It employs some 13,000 staff.

The draft bill had been introduced by the Hope Parliamentary Group, a reformist faction of the Parliament which was the hope of reform-minded voters who chose its members over a year ago.

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