Iran International Returning to London but Not Chiswick

TV channel to restart broadcasts despite continued threats

Armoured police vehicles in Chiswick Business Park. Picture: Iran International TV

Forbes is reported that Iran International TV is set to resume broadcasting in London but will not be returning to its base in Chiswick Business Park.

The Saudi-funded station moved its operations to Washington DC in February after being informed by the authorities in the UK that there was a credible threat to its staff from agents of the Tehran regime.

Prior to that, a range of security measures had been put in place at the office development including armed guards and barriers at the entry. Some of these measures remain despite the announcement of the move.

On Saturday 11 February, Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, a 30-year-old Austrian national of Chechen origin, was arrested at Chiswick Business Park and subsequently charged with terrorism offences after he was found to have been taking photos and videos of the office. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been remanded in custody. He is due to attend a plea hearing in July with a trial date set for this December.

Forbes quotes the channel’s director of safety, security and resilience Roger Macmillan as saying, “We are coming back” and added “we will be operating [from London] by the summer” during an event at the Houses of Parliament earlier this month.

He continued, “We will not be broadcasting again from Chiswick Park. We are rebuilding and fortifying our new studios in London. In conjunction with the police, the assessment has been made that, with certain measures in place, we are going to be able to broadcast again.”

The Islamic Republic has targeted journalists critical of its regime across the world including those working for the BBC Persian language services and other reporters with independent media. At the same meeting in parliament a BBC executive said that they have been advised by the Metropolitan Police about potential threats to their journalists who had already been harassed in the UK along with their relatives in Iran.

A constant police presence was maintained at the office development

After Iran International announced it was quitting Chiswick, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) commander-in-chief Major General Hossein Salami said this was a sign of “how far the Islamic Revolution's realm of power, field of infiltration and radius of influence has extended.”

Calls to proscribe the IRGC have been increasing and 125 MPs recently signed a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to take this step describing the organisation as the primary financer of terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. British-Iranian activist Vahid Beheshti is currently holding a hunger strike outside Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office with the demand that the IRGC should be labelled a terrorist organisation.

A barrier has been placed at the Bollo Lane entrance to the north of the development

The regime has become even more sensitive to criticism in the wake of rising domestic unrest following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022 after she was detained by the morality police for not observing the country’s strict dress code for women.