An influential Farsi-language channel has had its broadcasts to Iran disrupted following threats by the Iranian government against one of the satellite operators carrying its signal.
Iran International, which operates from London, said it could no longer use Turkmenistan-based satellite capacity after pressure from Iranian officials on counterparts in Ashgabat.
The TurkmenAlem 52°E / MonacoSAT is one of the few satellites with coverage in Iran. It is based in Monaco and operated by Turkmenistan’s National Space Agency.
The Iranian ambassador to Turkmenistan is believed to have applied pressure on the agency to cease co-operation with Iran International, according to a representative for the broadcaster.
This followed warnings from commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps over the weekend that “certain institutions and countries” working with the channel could be included in Iran’s military targeting.
A representative for Khatam Al Anbiya Central Headquarters, a command of the IRGC, warned that if co-operation with Iran International continues, “the bases of its co-operation with it will be placed in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s target bank”, according to Iranian media reports.
Iran International’s chief executive Mahmood Enayat said the alleged threats were a “grave escalation” following years of pressure from the Iranian regime on the channel’s reporters and staff in exile.
The broadcaster has previously been forced to change its base in London due to security risks, and its staff have been attacked online and in person. In April 2024, presenter Pouria Zeraati was stabbed outside his home in Wimbledon in a targeted attack.
In February, another Farsi-language channel, ManotoTV, which adopts a stance in support of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, suspended live broadcasts after being evicted from its London studios over security concerns.
Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, counsel to Iran International, said the alleged threats of military action against satellites and media infrastructure were a “dangerous assault to freedom of expression”.
“At a time when the Iranian people are being systematically cut off from independent sources of information, these threats represent a desperate and unlawful attempt to extinguish one of the last remaining channels of free reporting in the Farsi language,” she said.
Iran International filed an urgent complaint on Monday to UN experts including Prof Mai Sato, special rapporteur for human rights in Iran, who is preparing a report about the Iranian government’s nationwide communications shutdown during anti-regime protests in January.
