One of Israel Today’s regular contributors has been officially designated an “enemy entity” by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Israeli journalist and Middle East commentator Edy Cohen appears on a newly published Iranian Ministry of Intelligence document cataloguing hundreds of individuals, media outlets, websites, and organizations that Tehran considers hostile to the regime. Cohen is listed alongside Israeli journalists, academics, dissidents, opposition figures, human rights advocates, and major international broadcasters.
The document is far more than a watchlist.
Issued by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, it serves as the basis for warning Iranian citizens against any form of contact or cooperation with the named individuals and organizations. The accompanying text cites severe legal penalties for those accused of assisting, communicating with, or providing information to entities on the list under Iran’s broad national security laws.
Among the 61 individuals identified are Israeli commentator Hananya Naftali, journalist Emily Schrader, activist Yoseph Haddad, intelligence researcher Dr. Eli David, veteran broadcaster Menashe Amir, political analyst Amit Segal, and exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, along with numerous Iranian dissidents and civil society activists.
The inventory extends well beyond individuals. It includes official accounts of the State of Israel, the IDF’s Persian-language channels, the Mossad, Israeli research institutes, international human rights organizations, women’s rights groups, foreign media outlets including BBC Persian and Voice of America Persian, and hundreds of social media accounts across Telegram, Instagram, X, and YouTube.
Israel Today correspondent Edy Cohen makes the list of “enemies” of the Iranian regime, as published on the Iranian website Ekhtebar.ir.
The breadth of the list offers a revealing glimpse into the regime’s mindset.
Rather than limiting its focus to intelligence services or political opponents, Tehran groups journalists, think tanks, academic institutions, NGOs, educational initiatives, and online commentators into a single category of hostile actors. The result is an extraordinarily expansive definition of “enemy” that encompasses virtually any independent source of information capable of reaching an Iranian audience.
That may be the document’s most significant takeaway.
Authoritarian governments often seek to control narratives, but few publish such a comprehensive catalogue of those they fear. In doing so, the Iranian regime inadvertently highlights the extent to which it views information itself as a strategic threat. The inclusion of journalists, researchers and media organizations alongside intelligence agencies suggests a recognition that ideas—and the ability to communicate them—can be as destabilizing to an authoritarian system as any covert operation.
For Israel Today, the inclusion of contributor Edy Cohen is therefore more than a personal distinction. It reflects our role in providing analysis and commentary that reaches audiences the Iranian regime would prefer remain beyond its influence.
The list was intended as a warning.
Instead, it has become an unusually candid admission of what Tehran fears most: not merely military pressure, but the free flow of information beyond its control.
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