I will continue the approach of never lying to the people, not being arrogant, of striving for freedom and a free press

President Khatami's speech

The newspaper Hambasteghi is owned by a reformist member of Iran's parliament.

In an interview published in the paper on Wednesday, another reformist politician accused the head of Iran's judiciary, the Iraqi-born Ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi, of not having Iranians' best interests at heart.

Campaign against press

Mr Shahroudi has been involved in a battle with moderate parliamentarians over appointments to the influential Council of Guardians.

Reformist newspapers are often closed

The dispute delayed President Khatami's swearing-in for three days until Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei ruled in favour of Mr Shahroudi.

It was Ayatollah Khamenei who started the campaign against the reformist press last year, when he called them "bases of the enemy".

Since then, at least 16 newspapers have been suspended, as well as many magazines.

Several journalists have been jailed, accused of propaganda against the authorities or of threatening national security.

Moderate reform

Hambasteghi began daily publication in October 2000, and soon reached a circulation of more than 100,000.

It was described by a BBC correspondent as a "moderate reformist" newspaper, which did not believe in direct confrontation with the regime.

Despite this, its managing director Gholam-Heidar Ebrahimbai-Salami has frequently been called to appear before Iran's Press court to explain articles, most recently in July.

According to the Iranian judiciary, the newspaper was closed as a "preventative measure".