New IRNA chief Hashemi takes office
New Managing Director of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) Seyyed Zia Hashemi took office in a ceremony held at the agency’s headquarters in Tehran on Monday.
Hashemi succeeded Mohammad Khoddadi who served as the head of the agency for five years and resigned last week, IRNA reported.
Khoddadi was appointed as IRNA chief on September 16, 2013 by then Culture Minister Ali Jannati.
The news agency chief was appointed by Iran’s Culture Minister Seyyed Abbas Salehi, who also attended the ceremony.
Hashemi, an associate-professor of sociology at the University of Tehran, has served as caretaker of minister of science, research and technology. He has also been among the founding members of Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) and member of board of directors of Shia News Association.
Praising the news agency, the Iranian culture minister said that IRNA, both before and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has been a link between the country and the outside world.
“IRNA, with an 83-year history, is an important asset for the country,” Salehi said.
He underlined that the era of the media which has biased coverage of the events, has ended and urged the news agency’s authorities to turn IRNA to a bridge between people and officials.