Ofcom Investigates TV Network Over Ahvaz Attack

Ofcom is investigating a UK-based Saudi-linked television network after it gave airtime to the spokesman of an extremist separatist group who praised last month’s terrorist attack in the Iranian city of Ahvaz, which killed at least 25 people, including children.

The investigation by the media watchdog highlights the growing influence of Saudi-linked stations operating from London, which is increasingly becoming a key media battleground for the proxy wars in the Middle East, the Guardian reported.

Iran International TV, based in west London, was the first Farsi-language media organization to interview Yacoub Hor al-Tostari, a spokesman for the so-called Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz, after the 22 September attack.

Tostari claimed the attack and praised the killings, later condemned by the UN Security Council as a “heinous and cowardly terrorist attack”.

Ofcom confirmed it was investigating the interview.

“We are assessing this news program as a priority against our broadcasting rules,” a spokesperson said. 

Iran’s ambassador to the UK, Hamid Baeidinejad, tweeted that the embassy had filed a complaint.