Iran designates UK-based TV channel as ‘terrorist group’

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iran has designated UK-based Persian-language news network Iran International as a "terrorist organization" and warned Britain that it will "pay for its anti-Iran actions."

In an interview aired Tuesday night, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib decried the UK, the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia for their alleged involvement in protests inside Iran fueled by the death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman in police custody in September.

He said Iran International has been designated as a "terrorist organization" by Iran's security apparatus and those associated with it are "wanted" by the country's intelligence ministry.

The minister warned that "any kind of communication" with the UK-based news network will be deemed as "engagement in terrorist activities and a threat to national security".

The remarks came on the heels of reports in UK-based Persian-language media about possible risks to the lives of two journalists working for Iran International.

Khatib said Iran "will not commit itself to counter insecurities" in the UK, but added that London "will pay for its actions to destabilize Iran".

Last month, Iranian officials called for the designation of UK-based Persian-language news outlets, including Iran International and BBC Persian, as "terrorist organizations".

Iran's Deputy Judiciary Chief, Kazem Gharibabadi, said Tehran will take legal measures against these channels for "directing and inciting riots in Iran through promotion of terrorist acts and encouraging people to destroy public and private property".

His remarks came a week after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief, General Hossein Salami, warned Saudi Arabia over Iran International's coverage of protests in Iran, accusing Riyadh of bankrolling it.

He accused the Saudi leadership of "provoking the Iranian youth", and threatening "consequences" if the anti-Iran slant of the news channel was not restrained.

Many top political and military officials have in the past few months spoken against Iran International and BBC Persian, criticizing their critical coverage of protests that have rocked the country since mid-September.

The British ambassador in Tehran was summoned by the foreign ministry at least three times to protest Britain's hosting of these Persian-language news channels.

In the first summon on September 25, Iran protested what it called the role of UK-based Persian-language media in "instigating riots" and "creating a hostile environment" in Iran in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini.

Amini died after being detained by Iran's morality police allegedly for wearing "inappropriate dress". Her death led to widespread countrywide protests, with many Western governments imposing fresh sanctions on Iranian officials and entities.

In his remarks on Tuesday night, Iran's intelligence minister blamed Israel, the UK and Saudi Arabia for being active in "implementation, propaganda and financing" of Iran protests respectively.

Referring to a recent mass rally in Berlin in support of protests in Iran, Khatib said it was financially supported by Saudi Arabia.

About 80,000 Iranian expats and their supporters marched in the German capital on October 22, which many believed was the biggest rally held by the Iranian diaspora.

These developments have cast an ominous shadow on efforts to revive diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, who have been engaged in tension-easing talks brokered by Baghdad since last April.