IRAN JAMMING BBC’S EGYPTIAN BROADCASTS

The BBC charged today (Friday) that Iran is jamming its Persian language television broadcasts from Egypt. In a statement, BBC World Service Director Peter Horrocks said, “This jamming should stop immediately. It is wrong that our significant Iranian audience is being denied impartial news and information from BBC Persian TV. … It is clear from our audience feedback that Iranian people want to know what is happening in Egypt.” In a statement, National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said, “The recent arrests and effort to block international media outlets underscores the hypocrisy of the Iranian leadership. … For all of its empty talk about Egypt, the government of Iran should allow the Iranian people the same universal right to peacefully assemble, demonstrate and communicate in Tehran that the people are exercising in Cairo.” Ironically, only today [prior to the resignation of President Mubarak], Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proclaimed his support for the demonstrators, saying that their protests show that “a new Middle East is emerging without the Zionist regime and U.S. interference.”