Three days after allegedly being captured by Iranian officials, Abdulmalek Rigi's confession was aired on the state-controlled outlet Press TV, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The events surrounding Rigi's capture and activities remain uncertain, but the state-owned media is playing an important role in using Rigi's capture to promote the Ahmadinejad administration's agenda, continues the article.

Abdulmalek Rigi is the leader of Jundallah, a militant anti-establishment movement fighting on behalf of Sunni Muslims of the Baluchi ethnic group.

Robert Mackey, at the New York Times, notes that the Jundallah has killed hundreds of Iranian soldiers and civilians since 2003. The militant group also claimed responsibility for a series of bombings in Iran, including one in October, which killed 15 members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and 25 civilians.

Media reports surrounding the circumstances of Rigi's arrest differ. According to BBC News, Ettela'at, an Iranian newspaper, viewed Abdulmalek Rigi as a representation of outside forces who are working for the destruction of Iran.

The BBC points out that Iran, through state-owned media, appears to be capitalizing and using the media to promote its own view and message concerning Rigi's arrest.

Iran took a direct stab at the foreign media, accusing “pro-terrorist” Al-Arabiya, the BBC, and Voice of America of supporting Jundallah's activities.

Iran is also capitalizing on the media through the use of mobile phones. The Ministry of Intelligence and Security sent out a mass text message to all Iranians announcing Rigi's capture. “The capture of Abdulmalek Rigi, the famous terrorist, is the gift of the unknown soldiers of the 12th Imam to the Iranian nation,” the text message read.

Aside from using state-owned media to promote its message, Iranian officials continue to censor domestic media sources, shutting down publications that disparage the government or openly support the opposition movement in Iran.

On March 1, Iran's press watchdog banned the best-selling daily Etemad, reports Iran Focus. Etemad, which means “trust” in Farsi, published controversial comments by former Iranian Presdient Mohammad Khatami. Khatami said that the country is currently facing a “crisis.”

According to a report at Al-Jazeera, ISNA News Agency provided a vague explanation for the ban on Etemad. “The press watchdog banned Etemad and referred the case to the judiciary for repeated and persistent violations,” said Al-Jazeera, without providing specifics of the publication's offenses against the Iranian government.

Mohammad Ali Ramin, Iran's deputy culture minister for media affairs, stressed that the publication had received “repeated warnings,” before the official banning. Claiming that the press watchdog had no choice but to ban Etemad, Ramin added, “The decision was taken with a degree of leniency...Its license was not revoked and its case was referred to the judiciary.”

The weekly Irandokht, which means “Daughter of Iran,” also had its license revoked. According to Iran Focus, security forces raided the publication's office in December 2009. Emadeddin Baghi, a journalist and advocate for human rights, was jailed after the incident. ISNA claimed that it revoked Irandokht's license over “not meeting the conditions in the press law on practical commitment to the institution.”