He was accompanied by the esteemed Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Abbas Salehi, Director of Government Information Council Elias Hazrati, Deputy for Communications and Information of the Presidential Office Mohammad-Mehdi Tabatabai, Deputy for Political Affairs of the Presidential Office Mehdi Sanayi, and presidential aide Yousef Pezeshkian, among others.

    The president and the other dignitaries were welcomed by IRNA’s CEO Hossein Jaberi-Ansari and Deputy for News Javad Daliri before meeting with directors-general, managers, and chief editors from the news organization’s various services.

   Pezeshkian also visited IRNA’s newsroom, where he was briefed on how the news report is prepared.

   In remarks to senior editors, President Pezeshkian said the timely and accurate dissemination of information was an urgent necessity, as hostile forces engaged in lies, slander, and accusations.

   “We must be straightforward with the people and speak the truth when delivering news,” he said. “Today, falsehoods are widely spread in the media and on the internet, while there is no greater sin than lying.”

   The president said it was unacceptable that a country as rich in resources as Iran lagged behind in the standards of living while neighboring nations with less resources enjoyed higher welfare standards.

   “We are not inferior to them, and we must manage and plan in a way that ensures dignity and a high-quality life for all our people. No one will come to reform us — it is we who must change our own behavior.”

President Pezeshkian said Iran’s fate was in the hands of the Iranians. “We must determine our own destiny and join hands to achieve our goal in our own way,” he said, adding that a shift in perspective was needed to reach the goals.