Leading Arab satellite operator drops Hizbollah TV

It could take days for Al Manar to resume its transmission across the Middle East as it negotiates with various satellite providers, according to an official at the station.

BEIRUT // An Egyptian satellite provider cut the broadcast for Hizbollah’s television station on Wednesday, deepening Lebanon’s isolation in the region.

Al Manar briefly went off air after its carrier, NileSat, dropped the channel. Technicians scrambled to reprogram satellite receivers after the station switched its broadcast to Russia’s Express satellite provider in Lebanon.

It could take days for Al Manar to resume its transmission across the Middle East, however, as it negotiates with various satellite providers, according to an official at the station.

The cut came ahead of an expected visit to Egypt this week by Saudi King Salman.

Hizbollah’s influence over Lebanese politics has prompted Saudi Arabia and its allies to respond with media and political sanctions.

The Shiite group is seen as a proxy to Iran and has sent thousands of soldiers to fight against Saudi-backed rebels in neighbouring Syria’s civil war. Hizbollah has also aligned itself with the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who are fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

NileSat informed the Lebanese information ministry on Tuesday of its intention to drop Al Manar’s broadcasts, saying they “provoke sectarian strife”, according to Lebanon’s state news agency. Two other Lebanese stations are expected to be affected by the decision.

“This is a political decision, not an industry decision. Al Manar has nothing to do with sectarian strife,” the channel’s general manager Ibrahim Farhat said, calling the move “unjust and arbitrary”.

“This is part of the political problem in the region, that they’re taking out on the media.”

Al Manar is widely watched in Lebanon and is considered an authority on local and regional news. Its political reports openly favour pro-Iranian perspectives over pro-Saudi ones. It also broadcasts cooking and exercise shows, educational programmes and documentaries.

Wednesday’s developments underline the steep price of Hizbollah’s very public and bloody foray into Syria’s civil war. Once lauded in Lebanon and the Arab world as a heroic resistance movement that stood up to Israel, the group has seen its popularity plummet – even among its Lebanese base – because of its staunch support for president Bashar Al Assad.

Last month both the Arab League and the GCC designated Hizbollah a terrorist organisation.

A month earlier, Saudi Arabia cut US$4 billion (Dh14.7bn) in aid to Lebanon’s security forces after Lebanese foreign minister Gibran Bassil declined to join pan-Arab and Islamic resolutions critical of Iran and Hizbollah.

Gulf states, led by Riyadh, have taken other punitive measures. The UAE has banned its citizens from travelling to Lebanon, while Saudi Arabia and others have warned their citizens against traveing there. Lebanese satellite broadcasts have also been cut and a Saudi-backed broadcaster in Lebanon closed down.

* Associated Press, with additional reporting by Agence France-Presse