How the New York Times documents its coverage of Iran

I have written below on the long article on Iran which was written by the New York Times correspondent in...Cairo, who in turn relied on email messages. But at the bottom of the article, there is this addition: "Nazila Fathi contributed reporting from Toronto, and independent observers from Tehran." As is well-known, Toronto--but on clear days only--is the best place to view Iran from in the West--literally, as Joe Biden would say. But I also liked the reference to "independent observers from Tehran." Don't you like that reference? How does the New York Times determine whether somebody is "an independent observer" or not? I asked and wondered until I figured it out. They simply ask the person: Do you like the US and Israel? If the person said yes, it means that he/she qualifies as "an indendent observer."