Salehi made the remarks during a visit to the IRNA headquarters in Tehran along with President Masoud Pezeshkian on the occasion of the news agency’s 90th founding anniversary on Saturday.

The minister said that the official news agency of the Islamic Republic, previously known as Pars News Agency, has been and continues to be an asset to the country. “IRNA has played an unparalleled role in various parts of Iran’s history.”

Salehi particularly pointed to the news agency’s role during the Holy Defense against Iraq in the 1980s when Kamal Kharrazi, then CEO of IRNA, headed the War Information Headquarters, serving as a military spokesman for most of the war.

Referring to the services provided by IRNA for nearly a century, the minister said, “The news authority of IRNA still remains significantly intact. The archive of IRNA and the resources that exist as an asset within this media outlet are of particular importance.”

He also lauded IRNA’s CEO Hossein Jaberi-Ansari for his new approaches to move and the news agency forward. “A consensus government needs a media that establishes social harmony in society, a media that does not only unify the components of the government, but strengthens the bond and mutual trust between the government and the nation,” he said.