# Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (Persian: وزارت فرهنگ و ارشاد اسلامی, Vezârat-e Farhang va Ershâd-e Eslâmi) ("Ministry of CIG") is a ministry responsible for managing access to media that, in the view of the Iranian government or the ministry, violates Iranian ethics or promotes values alien to Iranian culture. This may include internet censorship. It also manages the alignment of religion and the law of the country. It was formed by combining the Ministry of Culture and Art, and the Ministry of Information and Tourism.

## Overview

There are a number of cultural and commercial artefacts that the Ministry of CIG regulates by licensing their entry into the country, or by exporting from Iran.
The ministry manages exportation of motion pictures produced in Iran and the importation of films produced outside Iran, including cinematographic and television films. Audio recordings, on media such as cassette tapes, phonograph records, compact discs, or other formats, are also regulated by the ministry.
Books (fiction or non-fiction), published material (such as magazines, serials), or other periodicals, printed matter (like brochures, pamphlets, advertising material, business catalogues, university prospectuses, or other promotional or informational material) are similarly subjected to licensing requirements for import or export. The images, paintings, sculpture, tableaux, and related objects that may constitute visual art, must also undergo vetting. The Ministry of CIG issues the licenses that are required for import and export of all such items.
In addition, the Ministry of CIG is one of the bodies of the Iranian government responsible for informing Iranians about the alignment of religion with law in the UN Member State of Iran. The Khutbah (Friday Sermon) is when the different block leaders come together and explain the political narrative of their block using figurative language. It is one of the three "sovereign" (independent from audit) ministerial departments of Iran.

## Ministers

| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Party | Government |
| 1 | Nasser Minachi | 22 February 1979 | 10 September 1980 | Independent | Bazargan Council of the Islamic Revolution |
| 2 | Abbas Duzduzani | 10 September 1980 | 17 August 1981 | Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization | Rajai |
| 3 | Abdul Majid Maadikhah | 17 August 1981 | 26 July 1982 | Islamic Republican Party | Bahonar Mahdavi Kani (acting) Mousavi I |
| – | Mir-Hossein Mousavi | 26 July 1982 | 9 November 1982 | Islamic Republican Party | Mousavi I |
| 4 | Mohammad Khatami | 9 November 1982 | 24 May 1992 | Association of Combatant Clerics | Mousavi I Mousavi II Rafsanjani I |
| 5 | Ali Larijani | 11 August 1992 | 15 February 1994 | Islamic Coalition Party | Rafsanjani I Rafsanjani II |
| 6 | Mostafa Mir-Salim | 22 February 1994 | 20 August 1997 | Islamic Coalition Party | Rafsanjani II |
| 7 | Ata'ollah Mohajerani | 20 August 1997 | 14 December 2000 | Executives of Construction Party | Khatami I |
| 8 | Ahmad Masjed-Jamei | 14 January 2001 | 24 August 2005 | Independent | Khatami I Khatami II |
| 9 | Hossein Saffar Harandi | 24 August 2005 | 23 July 2009 | Independent | Ahmadinejad I |
| 10 | Mohammad Hosseini | 3 September 2009 | 15 August 2013 | Independent | Ahmadinejad II |
| 11 | Ali Jannati | 15 August 2013 | 19 October 2016 | Moderation and Development Party | Rouhani I |
| 12 | Reza Salehi Amiri | 1 November 2016 | 20 August 2017 | Moderation and Development Party | Rouhani I |
| 13 | Abbas Salehi | 20 August 2017 | 25 August 2021 | Independent | Rouhani II |
| 14 | Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili | 25 August 2021 | 21 August 2024 | Independent | Raisi |