CNN and its foreign correspondent, Frederik Pleitgen, may boast of being among the only Western media outlets reporting from Tehran. However, access alone does not guarantee an unfiltered look inside the Iranian capital, especially when that access is granted by the regime itself.
Screenshot of a CNN broadcast featuring correspondent Frederik Pleitgen from Tehran, March 10, 2026.
Pleitgen was allowed to report from inside Iran just weeks after conducting a striking interview with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
In that exchange, held shortly after the regime killed thousands of anti-government protesters, Pleitgen failed to press the minister on the crackdown, allowing Araghchi to spread his propaganda to the Western masses largely unchallenged.
Days after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran, Tehran again allowed Pleitgen to report from inside the country despite a sweeping information blackout.
Since arriving, he has broadcast from a pro-government demonstration, interviewed Tehran business owners, and highlighted strikes in reports that largely portray Iran as the victim of Western aggression.
Read the rest of Darcie Grunblatt’s Mar. 9, 2026 Op-Ed in The Jerusalem Post.