A Farsi-language TV channel based in the UK has been forced to suspend its live broadcasts following threats alleged to have come from the Iranian government.
ManotoTV said it was evicted from its London studios after its landlord received a warning of a “potential threat” from the UK’s Counter Terrorism Policing. CTP London told The National threats were "serious”.
The broadcaster blamed the Iranian regime's pursuit of independent news outlets and said its “threats against freedom of speech” had intensified following nationwide anti-government protests in Iran last month and the threat of war from the US.
“At a time when Iran is facing one of the most sensitive moments in its history, and when domestic and regional developments are unfolding at an unprecedented pace, the Islamic Republic’s threats against freedom of speech – aimed at suppressing independent reporting – have intensified,” it said in a statement.
“In the wake of these threats, our landlord has informed us of their intention to terminate our tenancy following a notification from the UK’s Counter Terrorism Policing regarding a potential threat against us from the Islamic Republic of Iran regime. Our access to the building has since been denied,” it added.
“Our priority is to return to live broadcasting from a safe and stable location as soon as possible,” the statement said.
Chief Superintendent Kris Wright, head of Protective Security Operations within Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London, told The National: “For some time now, officers from CTP here in London and across the UK have been responding to threats projected into the UK from Iran, which includes threats against Persian language media organisations
“We are not able to go into any further detail in relation to threats against, or advice given to specific individuals or organisations, but as we have seen through our work in disrupting other plots, these threats are serious and we are treating them as such.”
He said the force would work with intelligence agencies and others to protect those threatened "in order to uphold the democratic freedoms that we all enjoy here in the UK”.
ManotoTV produces mainly celebrity and cultural news, but also makes programmes about the deposed Iranian monarchy in exile and the Reza Pahlavi, the late shah's heir. Content on its YouTube channel was updated on Monday, but live broadcasts have temporarily been suspended.
The alleged threats against it are part of a pattern against independent Iranian media and diaspora organisations in the UK, who are living in exile because of their opposition to the Islamic Republic.
Journalist Pouria Zeraati, an anchor for the UK-based news channel Iran International, was stabbed outside his home in 2024 in an attack suspected to have been linked to the Iranian regime. Two Romanian men have been charged with the assault and will stand trial in May, while a third suspect remains at large in Romania.
The channel's headquarters in London are guarded by police following years of threats to staff and their families. The broadcaster’s spokesman, Adam Baillie, said it had been an extremely troubling time for its journalists, who are concerned for the safety of their families in Iran as news emerges of tens of thousands of deaths during protests.
They have been forced to avoid contact with relatives so as not to put them at risk of threats and harassment. “It’s an offence (in Iran) to be in touch with us; it is considered espionage,” he told The National. "The more tensions there are in Iran, the worse it is for us.”
The intensity of Iranian activity against the UK has increased, with more than 20 potentially lethal plots launched in 2025, Kenneth McCallum, the head of MI5, said in October.
Minister of State for Security Dan Jarvis said last year that Iran was trying to stifle criticism in the UK though intimidation and fear. "The Iranian regime is targeting dissidents and media organisations and journalists reporting on the violent oppression of the regime,” he said.
Counter-terrorism police arrested seven Iranians in May in two separate operations in connection with an imminent plot to stage an attack in the UK.
Three men charged under the National Security Act were accused of conducting surveillance operations on Iran International. They denied the charges when they appeared at the Old Bailey in London in September and were committed for trial this October.
