Iran bans 2 pro-reform newspapers

A pro-reform newspaper editor says the Iranian government has banned his daily until further notice.

Also, the semiofficial Fars news agency reports that a pro-reform weekly has been ordered shut.

Journalists complain that the Tehran regime has been closing down publications sympathetic to the opposition since Iran's contentious election last June.

Editor Behrouz Behzadi of the Etemaad daily said his newspaper was banned by the Press Supervisory Board. The order cites article six of the press law without elaborating. That article allows newspapers to be closed for offenses from security violations to insulting articles.

The Fars news agency said Monday that a weekly called Irandokht was also closed down. One of its editors was arrested last month.