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A UK-based Iranian TV station is being funded through a secretive offshore entity and is a Saudi Arabian businessman with Saudi Arabian prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Guardian can reveal.
The disclosures are likely to be made concerning the editorial independence of Iran International, and comes at a time of growing fears about a number of Saudi-linked stations operating across London.
A source told the Guardian that Prince Mohammed, who is one of the most responsible for the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, is the force behind Iran International. The station, which is operating out of Chiswick, has not denied claims that it receives its funding from the Royal Saudi court.
Iran International TV emerged abruptly on the London media scene last year; many of the 100-strong staff members were often asked what they were, what was theirs, but was elusive about its source of funding.
Millions of Iranians frustrated with a state broadcaster by censorship watch satellite channels via illegal rooftop dishes. London has become a hub of such exile Iranian channels, which also include BBC's Persian service and Manoto TV, which has broadcast Iranian versions of The X Factor and Come Dine With Me.
The source claimed Saud al-Qahtani, the Crown Prince's Information Tsar, who was among two senior officials removed from the affiliation with the Khashoggi affair, was involved in the funding behind Iran International TV.
"You could have a larger picture [Saudi media moguls] with that money being thrown around [by Prince Mohammed] The source said, when talking about the crown prince,
Iran International said that the network was involved in some of the wrongdoing, or was subject to inappropriate influences or was not editorially independent.
While Saudi Arabia shows zero tolerance for criticism of its absolute monarchy, it is underlined by Khashoggi's murder, it is setting up media organizations in other languages, especially about Iran.
Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, a postdoctoral research fellow in modern Iranian history at the University of Oxford, said: "While there is little doubt that the heavy hand of the Iranian State has its fair share of responsibility for this state of affairs and the lack of In the state of affairs, it appears that Iran is in favor of a more aggressive posture against Iran, emboldened, no doubt, by the Trump administration. "
Employing a wide range of people in the Iranian diaspora, including human rights activists, Iran, Iran, Iran, Iran.
"I was told that we are not in the funding. If I knew it from Saudi, I would not have joined the station, "one insider said. "I can say that Iran International TV has turned into a platform … for ethnic partisanship and sectarianism."
Earlier this summer, the station was criticized for airing extensive live coverage of a rally by the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), a cult-like organization that has espouses change in Saudi Arabia. Senior Trump administration officials, including John Bolton, are advocates of the group, which was listed as a terrorist group in the US until 2012.
The insider claimed to be one of the secretaries who were hidden behind an offshore Cayman Islands company. The MEK coverage, the insider said, was one such example.
Ofcom has recently polled Iran International for giving airtime to the spokesperson of a group that has been praised to a terrorist attack in Iran last month.
Flying Media, the company that runs Iran International, has a director named Adel Abdulkarim, who is a Saudi national. He has had a long working relationship with well-connected. He has had a long working relationship with Saudi Arabia, including Abdulrahman al-Rashed, who sits on the board of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), the largest publishing company. the Middle East.
Multiple sources claim Rashed, who is the former general manager of the Saudi-owned news channel Al Arabiya, was also involved in the operations and funding behind Iran International.
Nabeel Al-Khatib, a consultant working with Iran International, has been described by its editors as a supervisor of the station or representative of the investors. It has been claimed Iran International editors have used Khatib's Palestinian nationality to remain evasive about the channel's Saudi funding. The Guardian has seen the light of day in Iran, but it has not yet been translated into Iran. Khatib denied influencing editorial decisions and said he was an independent consultant who offered services to broadcast companies around the world.
Last month, Khatib emerged as Bloomberg Asharq project director in a deal signed between Bloomberg and SRMG.
According to one source, Saudi Arabia has given $ 250m (£ 197m) in funding to help the launch of Iran International, which runs no commercial advertising. The source did not give a timeframe, but a survey of its office and employee salaries to an initial five-year period – $ 50m per year. Flying Media lost £ 26m in 2017, according to accounts filed on 4 October.
One train employee said many staff were stuck between a rock and a hard place. "They have realized that they are under the control of the United States, but they are not paying too much for their incurring repayments under their contracts. Some rely on the television's sponsorship to be able to continue living in London, "the former staff member said.
Gary Sick, who served in the US National Security Council under the Carter Administration, said both Iran and Saudi Arabia were making active use of their regional media rivalry.
"Iran's Press is full of negative stories about Saudi leadership, and official (and unofficial) Saudi media portray Iran as the single greatest source of instability and terrorism in the Middle East," he said.
Rob Beynon, the acting head of the television station, did not deny that funding for it came from the Royal Royal Court.
"[Iran International] provides news for all Iranians, in Iran and the diaspora, reflective of the widest range of opinions. "Beyond Said," These are published in English and Farsi on our website, "Beynon said.
He added: "It is transparent and impartial, as you can see from our output. The management structure is as you would expect in any news organization. Decisions are taken by our senior editorial managers, who report to me. "
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