Iran is being targeted by Western countries whose media are mostly biased when reporting about the Islamic republic, a delegation of Iranian journalists said Monday. They have now asked their Indonesian counterparts to help them counter prejudiced information, which they believe demonizes their country.

Speaking to members of the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) at the Press Council's office in Jakarta, the Iranian journalist delegation said Indonesia and Iran could cooperate by giving journalists in both countries direct access to information about each other's countries, instead of relying solely on Western news agencies.

"We do not mind the Indonesian media using Western sources *when publishing stories about Iran*, but we are hoping direct sources from the Iranian media are also used," said Mehdi Sarrami, manager of digital media affairs at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, who spoke on behalf of the delegation.

Iran has 16 news agencies, including the state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). The Iranian embassy in Jakarta will facilitate any media wishing to access those agencies.

The image of Iran, widely seen as the US's strongest and most persistent enemy in the Middle East, has been tarnished by issues ranging from alleged rights abuses to its nuclear ambitions.

The Iranian journalists, who visited national media offices on their six-day visit to Jakarta, said what appeared in the Western media was a distorted image of their country.

"I heard many negative stories ... before I came here, but as soon as I arrived here, I knew what was reported concerned only a small part of Indonesia," a journalist, Jamal Jahromi, said.

Iran is now sending a delegation of journalists to a number of countries to forge a similar type of cooperation.

PWI honorary board chairman Tarman Azzam said the organization welcomed the offer, as it would prevent the Indonesian media from succumbing to "Western media bias", citing the nuclear issue.

Sarrami said the Iranian press had more freedom compared to many countries in the West, adding it had a press law and supervisory body that investigated and brought journalists to a press tribunal for libel.

The Iranian government, however, has been lambasted by journalists and rights activists for trying and sentencing US journalist Roxana Saberi over spying charges. Her lawyer reportedly said an appeal court had annulled her eight-year prison sentence.

Sarrami said Saberi had been working without press credentials. "We welcome foreign journalists as long as they have press IDs," he said.

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