The UK's media regulator, Ofcom, has upheld a complaint by Iran International against Al Jazeera over allegations made against Iran International by a Tehran-based “analyst”, who is considered a regime insider.
In a video interview with Al Jazeera’s News Hour on January 7, 2023, government mouthpiece Mohammad Marandi defended the executions of Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini, both accused of participating in anti-government protests and allegedly being involved in the killing of Basij member, Ruhollah Ajamian.
A figure close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Marandi accused London-based Persian networks such as Iran International, of provoking unrest in Iran during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, further claiming these media “have repeatedly called, … have legitimized and praised beating police officers, burning them alive and murdering them.”
Following Marandi’s remarks, Iran International filed a complaint with Ofcom about Al Jazeera, arguing that “it was treated unjustly or unfairly in the program as broadcast.”
According to the complaint, “at no point during the program did the presenter challenge, correct or seek to contextualize Mr. Marandi’s incorrect and harmful comments about Iran International.”
Iran International also emphasized that no case has ever been filed against the network in Ofcom on the charges claimed by the commentator and that the network has never been accused of violating the principles of news coverage.
“Marandi … had made statements before in which he defended the actions and policies of the Iranian government, and criticized public figures and governments in Western democracies,” Iran International said, adding that “Marandi’s alleged reputation should have alerted Al Jazeera in advance to the probability that he would make comments on air which would be potentially unfair or unjust to individuals or organizations.”
In his interview on Al Jazeera’s News Hour, Marandi named and lambasted at least five human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, and other Persian-language media outlets in his interview, such as VoA and BBC Persian.
Al Jazeera said its presenter was not able to challenge Marandi’s assertions on each allegation he made.
But Ofcom did not accept this and upheld Iran International’s complaint, ruling that media outlets should take reasonable care before broadcasting a program to make sure that the materials would not be unfair to individuals and organizations. Ofcom said that Marandi’s “serious allegations” about Iran International made on News Hour “were not challenged or put into context”, resulting in unfairness to Iran International.
Ofcom referred to the fact that Marandi was there to provide a pro-Iranian government view and that while Al Jazeera introduced Marandi as a “political analyst” and “professor at the University of Tehran,” it did not point to his affiliation with the Iranian government. According to the regulator, this manner of introduction “may have led some viewers to expect Mr. Marandi’s comments to have been objective.”
Mohammad Marandi appears with some regularity on other Western news channels, including the BBC. Marandi is the son of Alireza Marandi, Iran’s former Health Minister and the head of the medical team of the Supreme Leader.
Ofcom also referred to the record of the Iranian government's actions and measures against Iran International and its designating the Channel as a terrorist organisation.
Earlier in the month, a leaked document revealed that Tehran’s Revolutionary Court convicted 44 foreign-based journalists and media activists in absentia two years ago over the allegation of “propaganda against the government.”
The names included prominent figures affiliated with Iran International, such as Mahmoud Enayat, Aliasghar Ramezanpour, Mehdi Parpanchi, Fardad Farahzad and Morteza Kazemian.
The document was revealed among a trove of files accessed after the hacktivist group Edalat-e Ali, or Ali’s Justice, breached the servers of the Iranian judiciary on February 20.
Another top secret intelligence document obtained by the hacktivist group showed Tehran targeted dozens of Iran International TV staff with financial bans and threats to their families amid protests in 2019.
In December 2023, UK’s ITV revealed that the IRGC was plotting to assassinate two Iran International television anchors in London in 2022 amid Iranian anti-government protests.
According to what audiences have reported to Iran International, items such as red meat, chicken, fish, rice, and dairy products had the highest share among the goods removed from households' consumption baskets.
Iran’s currency, rial, has lost 20 percent of its value since early January, which directly contributes to rising prices of wheat, rice and animal feed that are largely imported and subject to currency fluctuations.
Annual inflation in Iran has hovered at or above 40 percent since 2019, one year after the United States withdrew from the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal and imposed sanctions on the main source of Tehran’s revenues; oil exports. The already weak economy, over-burdened by government control and limited international trade, has shrank further in the past five years. Real incomes have decreased many-fold pushing tens of millions of people into poverty.
Now, at the onset of the New Year on March 21, legumes, milk, nuts, and pistachios, cheese, clothing, and eggs are among other items that, according to audience feedback reports, have been removed from their shopping baskets or purchased in limited quantities in some cases. Iran International, like many other media outlets, are not allowed to have a presence in Iran and audience feedback constitutes one of the main sources of information.
Some have also expressed concern about the worsening economic conditions in the near future, stating that they have been unable to afford their children's favorite foods for a long time. The unchecked drop in the value of the rial, price inflation and lack of adequate pay increases are the main reasons for people’s pessimism.
Newspapers in Iran report that canned tuna prices have jumped by 113% in the past 12 months and prices for red meat by 100%. As protein-rich foods become unaffordable for ordinary people, Eghtesad 24 website reported recently that one-third of Iranians live below the “poverty line.”
One of Iran International's audience members, referring to the fact that due to high prices, chicken and red meat have been removed from his table in the past year, said: "We can no longer afford to buy rice, and with this situation of inflation, no one is accountable, and we do not know what future awaits us."
A retired person sent a message saying that he and his family struggle because his income is far below of what it was when he was employed, and inflation was lower. “In these circumstances, we do not have the purchasing power for buying new clothes for New Year’s Eve and must suffice with buying basic necessities. Our life is such that we can only survive,” he said.
Reza Gheybi, an economic reporter, told Iran International that food and consumer items related to the New Year have become more expensive in recent days and some supermarket chains have even began selling to consumers on credit. The government is thinking of providing emergency loans of up to $400 (200 million rials). However, the government can only afford assistance by printing more money, which in turn lowers the value of its currency and makes inflation worse.
Before the 1979 revolution, the dollar was worth just 70 rials and Iran was one of the richest countries in Asia. In the 1970s, Iran hosted guest workers from South Korea and other countries amid a high annual growth rate.
One person told Iran International this week that bananas have been removed from their family's shopping basket and they are forced to buy low-grade oranges. "Consider that we are from the middle class. Those who are economically weaker than us may even end up picking from trash cans."
One of the audience members, referring to the removal of many items from their family's table, said, "I attribute all of these to the fact that the country is not being managed well; otherwise, with all this wealth and resources, we should not live like this."
