Iranian newspaper Ghanoon says it has been closed by the judiciary following complaints from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

The paper said on its website on June 20 that it has been accused of "libel and publishing falsehoods to create public anxiety." It didn't elaborate.

Ghanoon came under attack in January when it criticized the way the IRGC handled the arrest of 10 American sailors in Iranian waters.

IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari called the article "a big mistake" and said Ghanoon "must repent for what it had said."

The closure also comes after Ghanoon published on June 11 an article critical of detention conditions at a penitentiary facility in Tehran.

Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi dismissed the report as a "lie" and said the paper's editor in chief would be prosecuted.

Iranian media routinely face tough state censorship and the threat of closure by state authorities.

Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa