Iranian Media on Biden Inauguration, Trump’s Exit

The Iranian media—normally divided between reformist and hardline views in their editorial focus—covered the U.S. transition of power from widely diverse angles. Some focused on the drama of Trump’s exit before the inauguration. Others highlighted the beginning of a new political era in the United States. A recurrent theme was the tense atmosphere and heavy security at Biden’s inauguration two weeks after the insurrection at the Capitol. 

Etemad, a reformist newspaper, expressed relief that the Trump administration was over in its front-page headline “The End of the Nightmare.” The lead story in Shargh, a reformist newspaper, reported “Biden Takes Oath Under the Specter of Trumpism.” Jame Jam, a conservative newspaper, reported “Fear and Swearing in” under a photograph of National Guard troops protecting the Capitol.