Iran's judiciary has shut two pro-reform dailies for printing a letter accusing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of heading a system that abused people's votes, journalists said on Monday. The liberal Eqbal and Aftab-e Yazd newspapers were sealed late on Sunday by order of the Tehran Prosecutor's Office, journalists at the newspapers said.
It was not clear how long the newspapers would be barred from publishing, they said.
"Both papers published a letter which was critical of Khamenei," Issa Saharkhiz, a liberal journalist and former deputy culture minister, told Reuters.
Criticising the Supreme Leaders is a crime and many journalists have been tried and dozens of newspapers closed in Iran for similar offences in recent years.
The letter to Khamenei was sent by moderate cleric Mehdi Karroubi, who came third in presidential elections on Friday.