UK Daily Asked to Reveal More on Saudi-Linked TV Station

Iran’s ambassador to the United Kingdom has called on a leading newspaper to be more informative in its investigation into the funding of a newly-established anti-Iran TV station.
Hamid Baeidinejad also said in a tweet on Sunday that the Guardian was expected to shed more light on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s financial support for Iran International, a TV station that began operation in London last year with a clear agenda of spreading propaganda against Iran.
Baeidinejad hinted that the informed source who revealed Saudi links to the anti-Iran TV could be Jamal Khashoggi, the prominent dissident journalist whose assassination in Saudi Consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul last month sparked massive international outrage, Press TV reported.
“Given its [Guardian’s] recent revelations, it raises the question whether the source was Khashoggi. With controversy surrounding it, ethics and professionalism dictate that Guardian should confirm if so,” said the ambassador, making reference to the report that surfaced exactly on the day when Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

> Generous Funding 

The British newspaper, however, ran a second article on Saudi support for Iran International on October 31, which gave more details about how the Saudi royal court provided finances of up to $250 million to the TV station for a five-year period.
The author of both articles were the same person who said he himself received a guest fee after appearing in one of the shows on Iran International, implicitly suggesting that he decided not to continue cooperation with the TV channel after knowing its real agenda and sources of financing.
According to the second report, Iran International TV is being funded through a secretive offshore entity and a company whose director is a Saudi Arabian businessman with close links to bin Salman.
A source had told the Guardian that the prince, who many believe is responsible for Khashoggi’s murder, is the force behind the TV channel. 
The station has not denied claims that it receives its funding from the Saudi royal court. 
It emerged abruptly on the London media scene last year that many of the 100-strong staff network were offered generous salaries, often double what rivals paid, but the TV was elusive about its source of funding.
The source claimed Saud al-Qahtani, the crown prince’s information tsar, who was among two senior officials removed in connection with the Khashoggi affair, was involved in the funding behind Iran International TV.