Media, security and the Iranian nuclear crisis

Abstract

Iran’s controversial Nuclear Crisis (INC) has attracted many eyes and thoughts. While much ink has been spilled on its evolution and impact on international security and Middle Eastern politics, there has been a theoretical void in the explanation of the role of media in framing the INC. The present article gives a new frame on media power in issues related to international conflicts. It traces how CNN and Fox News, as the major US media broadcasting news channels, covered sequential phases of the INC. The article also tracks down the roles of these channels in securitizing the INC and framing it as a threat to international peace. Last but not least, it explains how these media channels construct and consolidate the discourse of Iranophobia.