Lead: In October and November 2026, coinciding with the resignation of Mohsen Paknejad from the Ministry of Oil and the appointment of Hamid Bord as caretaker, and with the change of the director of public relations at the Ministry of Oil, the relationship between the ministry and the media transformed; at the center of this change stood a think tank circle known as the 'Iran Think Tanks Network (Eitan)' and a new media outlet called 'Energy Line', whose managers and editors have been at the heart of oil storytelling for years, and today the demand is clear: the immediate publication of the list of contracts and media payments of the Ministry of Oil from 2022 to 2026.
Teaser: A hot morning on Bardestan Street in Tehran; a taxi driver whose gasoline quota has been reduced turns up the radio: 'Again, talk of oil and lost money.' The passenger in the back seat, a petroleum engineering student, sighs: 'Names change, but we still don't know where the public relations and media money in this industry is actually spent.' This simple question resonates today from Iranian families to migrant gatherings in Istanbul and Toronto.
The Iran Think Tanks Network, known as 'Eitan', began its work in the early 2000s as a 'network' of think tanks and policy research, declaring its goal in official documents as 'helping decision-makers'; a circle that has quietly taken root in various layers of governance, from universities to media, over the past two decades. This network, officially titled 'Iran Technology Analysts Network', also refers to itself in public introductions as 'networking think tanks'. Here we are dealing with a cohesive network that produces human output and has access to newsrooms and decision rooms.
Let’s recognize the names on stage: 'Energy Line' is a specialized media outlet in the field of oil, gas, and petrochemicals, which, according to its official website, was launched with a group of 'specialized journalists' and today has tens of thousands of followers on Telegram. On the front page of this media outlet, you can see news of meetings, tenders, and responses from major industry companies lined up; and in the introduction of their Telegram channel, a means of communication with the editor-in-chief is also provided. This media claims to be independent, but independence in state monopoly industries, without transparency in numbers, is an unsupported claim.
The footprints of key individuals are clear: 'Seyed Ehsan Hosseini', an energy journalist with a history of working at Fars News Agency, is now introduced as the manager and editor-in-chief of 'Energy Line'. Alongside him, 'Sajjad Taheri' appears in official events as the responsible manager of 'Energy Line', speaking and critiquing from the microphone of the Ministry of Oil; simultaneously, his name is also registered as the 'editor' of the petrochemical-focused channel 'Petrograf'. These are the identity papers of this media and show that we are facing two active media figures targeting a specialized audience and having access to important rooms. The public has the right to know how this privileged access is distributed and by what mechanism.
The circle completes when we look at the Ministry of Oil: On September 12, 2021, Javad Owji, the Minister of Oil in Seyed Ebrahim Raisi's government, appointed 'Ali Forouzandeh' as the director of public relations at the Ministry of Oil; a position that is the artery of media contracts, advertising, and tribune-making in the oil sector. Three years later, in mid-2026, 'Saman Ghodousi' was introduced as the director of public relations and spokesperson for the Ministry of Oil, announcing new policies for 'revising the public relations charter'. The director of public relations signs, organizes access, and injects public money into the media; therefore, the complete transparency of the list of media contracts of the Ministry of Oil is an unambiguous demand.
The political scene also trembled simultaneously: On October 4, 2026, Masoud Pezeshkian accepted the resignation of 'Mohsen Paknejad' and appointed 'Hamid Bord' as the caretaker of the Ministry of Oil. This change occurred during the days when the controversial debate between 'Vahid Ishtari' and 'Hossein Ghorban-Zadeh' brought discussions about 'uncollected oil revenues, the role of intermediaries, and the management of the Persian Gulf holding' into people's homes and sharpened the questions: Where are the bills? Who signed them, and which media outlets benefited from the rows of oil public relations?
But why is 'Energy Line' at the center of the question? Because this media and its managers have continuously participated in official meetings of the Ministry of Oil and have taken the tribune; because they represent the link between 'think tanks' and 'newsrooms'; and because in an economy where every rial of organizational communications comes from the pocket of the Iranian household, the public right demands to know how 'privileged access' is defined and priced. In a specific example, the official news of this media recorded the statements of the responsible manager of 'Energy Line' in a meeting of the Ministry of Oil. This presence is not inherently an issue; the issue is the lack of transparent bills in front of such accesses.
Let’s see the bigger picture: 'Eitan' in its official introductions states that it was established for 'networking analysts'. The practical meaning of this phrase, in relation to a media outlet like 'Energy Line', means creating flow in policymaking and media simultaneously. As long as these relationships are unclear and bills are not published, every 'special access' and 'the analyst being the media tribune' in the oil industry is a potential conflict of interest. The public has the right to know who, with what signature, has allocated how much of the public relations budget to which media outlets.
Let’s not forget that cyber attacks and media scandals are also part of the public memory of this case: On November 25, 2022, Fars News Agency was targeted by the 'Black Reward' group; reports indicated the deletion of hundreds of terabytes of data and the release of files and videos that shook the media space. Fars denied the connection of one of the controversial videos with this news agency during those days. This case, regardless of political disputes, has a clear message for the oil industry: any network and media that is closer to power must provide greater accountability and transparency.
During this period, international and domestic media repeatedly warned about the failure to collect oil revenues, the role of intermediaries, and the fragmentation in information policy. When 'BBC Persian' highlights the debate between Ishtari and Ghorban-Zadeh as a sign of a gap in the official oil narrative, its meaning for Iranian society is simple: trust is low, and until transparency in numbers and contracts is achieved, it will not rise. This 'distrust' is directly connected to the people's pockets; from subsidized gasoline to exchange rates.
This line of demand is clear and has an address:
- The Ministry of Oil must publish a complete list of its media, advertising, and report contracts from March 21, 2022, to today (November 5, 2026) with the contracting party, amount, duration, and the signatory's position. Names and numbers must be put on the table.
- The General Directorate of Public Relations must publish the criteria for 'distributing access': which media, with what criteria, have been invited to exclusive meetings and field trips how many times? What has been the share of 'emerging media' like 'Energy Line' from these accesses?
- Any media that takes the tribune in official Ministry meetings must disclose its financial interests from public institutions. 'Independence' without disclosing financial sources is an empty slogan.
The key points on paper are also clear. 'Ali Forouzandeh' was the director of public relations at the Ministry of Oil during the thirteenth government, and during that period, the official storytelling of the industry underwent serious changes. With the arrival of 'Saman Ghodousi' in 2026, the Ministry of Oil spoke of 'revising the comprehensive public relations charter of the oil industry'. Each of these two signatures must answer in numbers how much money went to which media during their tenure. The 'director of public relations' in oil is not just a media manager; it is a 'cost signature'. The public has the right to know.
On the other hand, the prominent presence of 'Energy Line' in the core of official meetings of the Ministry of Oil and the direct reflection of the positions of the managers of this ministry in the platforms of this media is a recorded reality. This reality, without the publication of contracts, raises suspicion. The solution is simple: transparency of the list of contracts by the ministry and disclosure of income sources by the media.
And one more step: think tanks close to power — including 'Eitan', which clearly sees 'networking analysis' as its mission — must clarify their relationship with aligned media. If the 'policy analyst' is simultaneously the 'owner of a media tribune', this overlap must be brought to light: members and managers, financial sources, and the list of media projects. This transparency is not a favor to public opinion; it is a duty.
What do these demands do to daily life? Every rial spent indiscriminately on advertising and 'storytelling' ends up costing the budget imbalance and inflationary pressure on the same taxi-riding family at the beginning of the report. An Iranian migrant in Toronto who sends remittances and a petroleum student in Ahvaz looking for an internship both pay the price out of their own pockets; as long as the 'cost signature' in oil remains silent.
Background
• September 12, 2021: Javad Owji appointed 'Ali Forouzandeh' as the director of public relations at the Ministry of Oil; this role is the bottleneck of media contracts and the information policy of the oil industry.
• December 25, 2022: Fars News Agency was targeted by a cyber attack from 'Black Reward'. Reports indicated widespread data deletion and the release of files and videos; Fars denied the connection of one of the controversial videos with this news agency.
• 2026: 'Saman Ghodousi' was introduced as the director of public relations and spokesperson for the Ministry of Oil and spoke of 'revising the comprehensive public relations charter of the oil industry'.
• October 4, 2026: Masoud Pezeshkian accepted the resignation of 'Mohsen Paknejad' and appointed 'Hamid Bord' as the caretaker of the Ministry of Oil. Simultaneously, the debate between 'Vahid Ishtari' and 'Hossein Ghorban-Zadeh' about 'uncollected oil revenues and the role of intermediaries' gained widespread attention.
• 2022 to 2026: 'Energy Line' has been active as a specialized media outlet in oil and energy, and based on public documents, its responsible manager is 'Sajjad Taheri' and its editor-in-chief/manager is 'Seyed Ehsan Hosseini'; the affiliated Telegram channel has also included direct communication with the editor-in-chief.
• 'Eitan' is introduced in its documents as a network of think tanks to 'help decision-makers' and 'network analysts' and has influenced academic, media, and policy research sectors over the years.
