Iraqi regulators have suspended the license of a Saudi-owned television channel and are taking steps to terminate its right to operate in Iraq after the channel aired a report describing former leaders of Hamasx1 gaming, Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force as “faces of terrorism.”
The suspension of the channel, MBC Media Group, was announced by the Iraqi Communication and Media Commission on Saturday, less than 24 hours after supporters of the Iranian linked armed groups stormed the channel’s offices in Baghdad, filming themselves as they vandalized equipment and smashed computers.
The break-in occurred after a crowd gathered late on Friday in front of the channel’s building, started a fire and chanted, “No, no Al-Saud.”
Among those the MBC report characterized as terrorists were Yahya Sinwar, the military leader of Hamas, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza earlier this week; the Iranian Quds Force general, Qassim Suleimani, who was killed in a U.S. strike in Baghdad in 2020; and Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, killed by Israel near Beirut in September. All had been designated as terrorists by the United States, and Hamas and Hezbollah are supported by Iran.
Saudi Arabia’s Media Regulatory Authority said the report also violated its media policy. It said officials there were looking at the country’s own legal procedures to address the violation.
Representatives of MBC in Iraq did not respond to multiple efforts to reach them for comment, but the report appeared to have been taken down.
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