The story: Lengthy, unannounced power outages across Iran—especially in the capital Tehran—are deeply infuriating the public. The government has offered several explanations that have failed to convince Iranians, who are already grappling with a multitude of other grievances. Amid a sanctions-hit economy that continues to ail, electricity cuts are perhaps the last thing both the government and the public needed.

The coverage: Over the past several days, the issue of power outages has been serious enough to cross factional lines and draw criticism from all Iranian media outlets, regardless of their usual stance towards moderate President Hassan Rouhani...