‘It’s Not a Completely Authentic Reporting Experience’

Filmmaker Sebastian Walker on the journalistic benefits of a “direct conversation” with Iranian leaders, despite draconian restrictions.

More than a month into the United States and Israel’s bombardment of Iran, it is increasingly difficult to get reliable information about the war’s toll. The Iranian regime has imposed a near-total internet blackout and continues to crack down on satellite services and VPNs, which reporters, activists, and others in Iran often use to circumvent government control. “Journalists are working under foreign bombs and receiving menacing phone calls from the authorities,” an independent Iranian journalist told Reporters Without Borders. “This political pressure hasn’t stopped with the war. On the contrary, it has intensified since the announcement of Khamenei’s death.”

Any reporting that does emerge from the country is especially valuable. Iranian authorities have allowed some foreign journalists in since the war began, including Fred Pleitgen of CNN and Dominic Waghorn of Sky News. But even with access, international journalists must operate under strict guidelines, and their work is heavily monitored. To better understand what we should make of the coverage coming out of Iran, I reached out to Sebastian Walker, an experienced foreign correspondent and independent documentary filmmaker who has been to Iran four times and whom I know from our time working together at Vice News.