An Iranian spy network has carried out propaganda campaigns and intelligence-gathering operations in the UK under the cover of Press TV, Iran’s state-run English-language news site, a person familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
The report was first published by London-based newspaper The Telegraph.
Britain’s “permissive environment” is being exploited by the Iranian regime, the source told the Post, adding that Press TV’s reports on dissidents and the Jewish community have provided a “target list for terrorists.”
Despite being banned from YouTube and having its broadcast license revoked by Ofcom in 2012, Press TV has persisted in publishing content on social media, and various left-wing activists and political leaders have appeared on its shows.
The Community Security Trust, a UK charity that guards Jewish institutions, said the news site had reported a number of times on Jewish schools and named 14 Jewish charities that it said were “known to be genocidal Zionist organizations.”
Roger Macmillan, a terrorism and security specialist who formerly worked at Iran International, an anti-regime,
Persian-language news channel, told the Post the issue was not just Press TV but the wide network of regime-affiliated companies in London.
Those media companies are unlikely to appear on any sanctions lists, but they are run by people who have an interest in furthering the goals and aspirations of the regime, he said.
While much of the information shared by Press TV is publicly available, its “vile antisemitic” content inspires others to carry out acts against the Jewish community, Macmillan said.
Iranian spies operate 'under the cover of journalism'
Jonathan Hackett, a US Marine Corps veteran specializing in counterintelligence and the author of Iran’s Shadow Weapons: Covert Action, Intelligence Operations, and Unconventional Warfare, told The Telegraph some Press TV journalists were using their credentials to spot potential targets for recruitment.
“They do a lot of early work, being out talking to people,” he said. “It is great if you have a journalist cover, as it makes sense to talk to people. It also provides more access to UK government officials.”
Hacket went on to tell the Post, “Press TV is a subsidiary of IRIB, a state-run media conglomerate. PressTV has performed both overt and clandestine services for Iran's intelligence ministry, known as Vaja, since PressTV's inception in 2007.
“PressTV has aired forced confessions of tortured political prisoners for years, many of whom were arbitrarily arrested and then abused in Evin prison by Vaja and IRGC interrogators,” he continued. “PressTV also provides commercial cover for Vaja case officers to spot, assess, recruit, handle, and task initially unwitting targets including American and British government officials. The most prominent of these recruitments is the 2013 recruitment of US Air Force counterintelligence agent Monica Witt.”
Marzieh Hashemi, a Washington-based presenter who works for Press TV, was involved in the recruitment of US Air Force counterintelligence specialist Monica Witt, who defected to Iran in 2013, Hackett said.
Marzieh Hashemi, a Washington-based presenter who works for Press TV, was involved in the recruitment of US Air Force counterintelligence specialist Monica Witt, who defected to Iran in 2013, Hackett said.
Several months ago, the Post reported on Houthi media shell companies operating in the UK.
The companies had allowed terrorists to enter the UK “to facilitate movement of money, material, and persons under the cover of journalism,” Hackett told the Post at the time.