Amid threats to UK staff, Iran International TV offers alternative to Tehran's narratives

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Iran International TV is a privately funded channel based in west London and was established in May 2017. (Supplied)
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Sadeq Saba, editor and presenter at Iran International TV, says the channel has been very successful in covering the November fuel hike protests in Iran. (Supplied)
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Iran International TV is the first 24-hour Persian news channel and already it has covered major events in Iran. (Supplied)
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The channel is very strong in sports for their younger audiences and they cover stories which Iranian channels usually do not touch. (Supplied)
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Within three years, Iran International has become number one channel among all other Persian language broadcasters. (Supplied)
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The channel mainly broadcast to Iran, but it is available everywhere in the world via major satellites and is streamed live on the Internet. (AN Photo/Sarah Glubb)
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Updated 14 January 2020
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Amid threats to UK staff, Iran International TV offers alternative to Tehran's narratives

  • Staff at Iran International TV have received threats to resign and their family members have been threatened and harassed
  • The channel has several bureaus around the world, except in Iran

LONDON: Iran is well known for suppressing protests and silencing critics within the country, but the regime is now extending its “distressing” abuses to Iranians living abroad.
Staff at Iran International TV, a news broadcaster based in west London, claim that not only have they personally faced a campaign of threats, but pressure has been applied on their families in Iran.
The station, which launched in May 2017, has quickly grown to become the most viewed Persian-language international broadcaster, tapping into a thirst for news from the Islamic Republic untarnished by the regime’s censors.
In particular, the channel has drawn audiences looking for coverage of the vast protests against clerical leaders last year that have now resumed in response to the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane by the Iranian military.

 

 

“Of course, we are the victim of our success as well, in a way,” Sadeq Saba, editor and presenter at the channel told Arab News. “We have been very successful in covering the protests in Iran, after the Iranian regime brutally suppressed them.”
Problems for the TV station’s staff began when demonstrations erupted in hundreds of cities across Iran in November last year over a hike in petrol prices. Reuters reported that 1,500 protesters were killed, and thousands arrested.
“The Iranian intelligence ministry, which is a notorious organization, summoned families of my colleagues in Iran,” Saba said. “Within a few days, more than a dozen colleagues were affected, their mothers, fathers, siblings were summoned to intelligence ministry offices in Tehran and other cities.”

 

 

The veteran journalist said the authorities put pressure on his colleagues and told them “if you don’t resign from Iran International, they will make sure that they bring us back to Iran by force. I don’t think this is something they can do, but this is my opinion sitting in the safety of London, but if you are an elderly mother in a remote part of Iran and intelligence ministry officials tell you ‘if your loved one does not quit Iran International we will bring her or him back to Iran by force from anywhere in the world,’ you would be very distressed.”

Saba added that both he and his colleagues “strongly condemned” what the regime had done to their families, who were “innocent and should be left alone. We are not hostile to the Iranian regime, we are not their enemies, we are just a news channel, and we are professional journalists, and we believe in our principles and ethics of journalism and we are doing a simple job.”
The channel, which is privately funded, was set up as the first 24-hour Persian news channel and already it has covered major events in Iran.
It employs about 200 staff and has several bureaus around the world except, of course, in Iran.

“We would have loved to have a bureau and have correspondents there, but the Iranian authorities, obviously, don’t permit Persian-language channels to have bureaus in Iran,” Saba said.
The channel uses “citizen journalists” in Iran to aid with their coverage of major events. During the protests in November, they received thousands of videoclips and material, some with content so “heartbreaking and demoralizing” they could not be aired.
“The Iranian authorities do not talk to us, but we make sure that their point of view is also aired,” added Saba, who hosts the weekly arts and culture program “Weekend with Sadeq Saba.”
However, he noted that due to the regime’s policies, its hostilities with the US, and “for many other reasons,” the Iranian population was very politicized.

 

 

“Even boys and girls from a young age become willy-nilly interested in politics,” Saba said, adding that they particularly wanted to know what the opposition and analysts were saying.
Saba, who formerly served as the head of BBC Persian, said that the reason for the broadcaster’s success was because it had gone someway to filling this vacuum.
“Within three years, Iran International has become the number-one channel among all other Persian-language broadcasters, from BBC Persian service, Voice of America Persian, and Radio Free Europe Persian service, which is called Radio Farda,” Saba added.
It also operates on all social media platforms, and according to data provided by the channel, its followers are significantly greater in number than competitor channels.

 

 

During the protests, the Iranian regime shut down Internet services in the country. Saba said that over the same period Iran also jammed Iran International’s satellite signal, forcing the broadcaster to make a complaint with the UK’s communications regulator.
In response, the channel set up a radio station as well to reach those who lived in remote areas or during times of blackouts.
Since its launch, the channel has had a string of major stories involving Iran to get its teeth into, providing extensive coverage of the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil refineries and oil tankers, the death of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, as well as Iran’s involvement in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
The coverage has brought recognition, with Iran International recently nominated for the Best International Channel of the Year award by the Association for International Broadcasting (AIB).

“This is a forum for everybody, if you want to know what is happening about Iran and you are a Persian speaker, you watch this channel, and we would like to continue that,” he said.
The channel also has plans to expand its services to include more English and Arabic content.


Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

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Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

  • National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized for interfering in police matters

JERUSALEM, Nov 14 : Israel’s Attorney General told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reevaluate the tenure of his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing his apparent interference in police matters, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Thursday.
The news channel published a copy of a letter written by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in which she described instances of “illegitimate interventions” in which Ben-Gvir, who is tasked with setting general policy, gave operational instructions that threaten the police’s apolitical status.
“The concern is that the government’s silence will be interpreted as support for the minister’s behavior,” the letter said.
Officials at the Justice Ministry could not be reached for comment and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
Ben-Gvir, who heads a small ultra-nationalist party in Netanyahu’s coalition, wrote on social media after the letter was published: “The attempted coup by (the Attorney General) has begun. The only dismissal that needs to happen is that of the Attorney General.”


Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

Updated 56 min 41 sec ago
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Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

  • Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished the office of the Palestinian Al-Bustan Association in occupied East Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Silwan, whose residents are under threat of Israeli eviction orders. 

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Culture condemned on Thursday the demolition of Al-Bustan by Israeli bulldozers and a military police force. 

The ministry said that “(Israeli) occupation’s arrogant practices against cultural and community institutions in Palestine, and specifically in Jerusalem, are targeting the Palestinian identity, in an attempt to obliterate it.” 

Founded in 2004, the Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities alongside hosting meetings for diplomatic delegations and Western journalists who came to learn about controversial Israeli policies in the area. 

Al-Bustan said in a statement that it served 1,500 people in Silwan, most of them children, who enrolled in educational, cultural and artistic workshops. In addition to the Al-Bustan office, Israeli forces also demolished a home in the neighborhood belonging to the Al-Qadi family. 

Located less than a mile from Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s southern ancient wall, Silwan has a population of 65,000 Palestinians, some of them under threat of Israeli eviction orders.  

In past years, Israeli authorities have been carrying out archaeological digging under Palestinian homes in Silwan, resulting in damage to these buildings, in search of the three-millennial “City of David.” 


Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

Updated 14 November 2024
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Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

  • Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack

CAIRO: An Israeli strike killed 12 people after it hit a civil defense center in Lebanon’s city of Baalbek on Thursday, the regional governor told Reuters adding that rescue operations were ongoing.
Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack on the Lebanese city, health ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civil defense official Samir Chakia said: “The Civil Defense Center in Baalbek has been targeted, five Civil Defense rescuers were killed.”
Bachir Khodr the regional governor said more than 20 rescuers had been at the facility at the time of the strike.


‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

Updated 14 November 2024
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‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

  • Workers complete reconstruction of 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque
  • Tower and mosque were blown by Daesh extremists in 2017

High above the narrow streets and low-rise buildings of Mosul’s old city, beaming workers hoist an Iraqi flag into the sky atop one of the nation’s most famous symbols of resilience.

Perched precariously on scaffolding in high-vis jackets and hard hats, the workers celebrate a milestone in Iraq’s recovery from the traumatic destruction and bloodshed that once engulfed the city.

On Wednesday, the workers placed the last brick that marked the completed reconstruction of the 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque. The landmark was destroyed by Daesh in June 2017 shortly before Iraqi forces drove the extremist group from the city.

Known as Al-Hadba, or “the hunchback,” the 45-meter-tall minaret, which famously leant to one side, dominated the Mosul skyline for centuries. The tower has been painstakingly rebuilt as part of a UNESCO project, matching the traditional stone and brick masonry and incorporating the famous lean.

“Today UNESCO celebrates a landmark achievement,” the UN cultural agency’s Iraq office said. “The completion of the shaft of the Al-Hadba Minaret marks a new milestone in the revival of the city, with and for the people of Mosul. 

“UNESCO is grateful for the incredible teamwork that made this vision a reality. Together, we’ve created a powerful symbol of resilience, a true testament to international cooperation. Thank you to everyone involved in this journey.”

The restoration of the mosque is part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, which includes the rebuilding of two churches and other historic sites. The UAE donated $50 million to the project and UNESCO said that the overall Al-Nuri Mosque complex restoration will be finished by the end of the year.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay celebrated the completion of the minaret by posting “We did it!” on social media site X.

She thanked donors, national and local authorities in Iraq and the experts and professionals, “many of whom are Moslawis,” who worked to rebuild the minaret.

“Can’t wait to return to Mosul to celebrate the full completion of our work,” she said.

The Al-Nuri mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Seljuk ruler Nur Al-Din. 

After Daesh seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014, the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate from inside the mosque.

Three years later, the extremists detonated explosives to destroy the mosque and minaret as Iraqi forces battled to expel them from the city. Thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and much of Mosul was left in ruins.


US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

Updated 14 November 2024
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US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

  • The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Hezbollah

BEIRUT: The US ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal to Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri on Thursday to halt fighting between armed group Hezbollah and Israel, two political sources told Reuters, without revealing details.
The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but efforts have yet to yield a result. Israel launched a stepped-up air and ground campaign in late September after cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war.