Iran International

Iran International (Persian: ایران اینترنشنال) is a Persian language television channel broadcast by satellite to Iran,[1][2] and is licensed in the United Kingdom to Global Media Circulating Ltd as an editorial news service. Iran International is available on every satellite broadcasting to Iran and is also the only Persian channel on Sky for UK viewers[3]. Iran International is editorially independent from any government or body, and abides by Ofcom’s rules and regulations[4].

Iran International
Launched18 May 2017 (2017-05-18)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguagePersian
English
Broadcast areaEurope, Northern Africa & Middle East (including Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan)
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Websiteiranintl.com/en/
Availability
Satellite
Astra 2G
(28.2°E)		11671 H 23000 2/3 (HD)
Eutalsat A/B
(7.0°E)		11220 H 27503


International media outlets have spoken to staff working for Iran International for their insight and analysis on the latest developments in Iran[5][6][7][8][9], including The Sunday Times, The Independent, Evening Standard, The Sydney Morning Herald and ABC Australia.


Ownership

Iran International is owned by Volant Media UK Ltd.[10] It is licensed in the United Kingdom to Global Media Circulating Ltd as an editorial news service based in London.[11] It was launched on 18 May 2017[12] and is managed by DMA Media Ltd, which has bureaus in Paris, Istanbul, Kabul and Washington.[13] Iran International is nominated for the International Channel of the Year Award 2019 by the “Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) alongside with Al Jazeera English, Al-Hurra, and CNN International.”[14]

In October 2018, The Guardian reported that the TV channel is funded by the government of Saudi Arabia through a "secretive offshore entity and a company whose director is a Saudi Arabian businessman with close links to the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman". One source stated $250 million had been provided, which was estimated to cover five years of operation costs.[15]

Volant Media, the company that owns Iran International, has a director named Adel Abdulkarim, who is a Saudi national. Adel Abdulkarim is a long time business partner with Abdulrahman al-Rashed, former general manager of the Saudi-owned news channel Al Arabiya and current board member of Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG).[16] According to the report by The Guardian, Abdulrahman al-Rashed was also involved in the operations and funding behind Iran International.[16]

Corporate documents for Volant Media shows that another Saudi national, Fahad Ibrahim Aldeghither, was the major shareholder of Volant Media before Adel Abdukarim. Aldeghither owned over 75% of the shares of Volant Media from May 2016 to May 2018. Fahad Ibrahim Aldeghither was the chairman of Mobile Telecommunication Company Saudi Arabia (Zain) from March 2013 to February 2016. Zain Saudi is the third-largest telecoms provider in Saudi Arabia.[17]

The head of TV is Mahmood Enayat[18], the editor-in-chief of the channel is Hossein Rassam,[12] who was formerly chief political analyst at the British embassy in Tehran.[19] Ali-Asghar Ramezanpour is the news director of the station.[20]

Iran ambassador's complaint

In 2018 Iran's ambassador to the UK lodged a complaint to the media regulator because of Iran International's interview with a separatist group spokesman after they claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack on a military parade in Ahvaz in Khuzestan Province, killing 25 civilians and military.[21] The channel aired an interview with Yaqoub Hor Altostari, presented as a spokesman for the group, indirectly claiming responsibility for the attack and calling it "resistance against legitimate targets".[22] After a long investigation Ofcom ruled that Iran International did not breach any rules.[23][24]

Staff

In July 2019, Iranian media reported Mazdak Mirzaei, a football commentator and TV host joined Iran International. Mirzaei had worked for IRIB on the weekly TV sports program Navad, that was suspended by the new head of IRIB 3 in March 2019.[25][26][27]

References
  1. LyngSat.com. "Iran International". Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  2. iSATdb.com. "Iran International actual frequency info". Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  3. "Iran International News". Sky. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  4. "Iran sees UK as 'Small Satan' but Brits 'should not fear attack'". Evening Standard. 2020-01-11. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  5. Das, Shanti. "Iran threatens to 'snatch' Farsi reporters from British soil". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  6. "Evacuated Americans flown home against medical advice and hundreds infected in China prisons". The Independent. 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  7. "Iran sees UK as 'Small Satan' but Brits 'should not fear attack'". Evening Standard. 2020-01-11. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  8. Kheyri, Dr Homayoun (2020-03-01). "Iran's negligence may lead to an even greater global viral outbreak". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  9. "abc australia homayoun kheyri - Google Search". www.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  10. "VOLANT MEDIA UK LTD - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk.
  11. "Ofcom Home - Licensing Home - TV Cable and Satellite". Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  12. Rosen, Armin (5 October 2018). "Iranian exiles use creativity and tech smarts to get real news past the regime's censors". Fast Company. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  13. "Iran International". DMA Media. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  14. "The AIBs 2019 The Shortlist" (PDF). Association for International Broadcasting. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  15. Kamali Dehghan, Saeed (31 October 2018). "Concern over UK-based Iranian TV channel's links to Saudi Arabia". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  16. correspondent, Saeed Kamali Dehghan Iran (2018-10-31). "Concern over UK-based Iranian TV channel's links to Saudi Arabia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  17. "New chairman for telecom provider Zain Saudi". Reuters. 2013-03-23. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  18. "Mahmoud Enayat is the New GM of Iran International". Iran International. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  19. "British embassy worker in Iran has sentence commuted". BBC News. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
  20. "The twopenny-halfpenny war by Reuters & 'Iranintl' on Iran". PressTV.
  21. "Deadly gun attack at Iran military parade". 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  22. "Iran points finger at Arab separatists for deadly attack". France 24. 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  23. editor, Jim Waterson Media (2019-03-26). "Iran TV station did not break rules over interview praising attack – Ofcom". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-09-29.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  24. Radio, Farda (27 March 2019). "Persian TV Channel Did Not Break Rules, British Media Regulator Says". RFE/RL. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  25. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "کوچ یک گزارشگر و موجی از داوری | DW | 24.07.2019". DW.COM (in Persian). Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  26. Ziabari, Kourosh (2019-08-19). "Is Iran's national broadcaster being pushed to brink of irrelevance?". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  27. "Iran football commentator Mazdak Mirzaei Emigrated to UK - PersianLeague.Com (Iran Football League)". www.persianleague.com. Retrieved 2019-09-29.


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