Press TV hits back at 'Zionist' broadcast ban

Iranian news channel Press TV has hit back at Europe’s top satellite service Eutelsat on Tuesday for barring 19 Iranian state-controlled television and radio channels from broadcasting in Europe, blaming Zionist conspiracy and a "Mossad thug" for the move.

The state-owned Press TV criticized the ban, stating on its website: "The choice, we are told, is one of a company, Eutelsat Communications. It claims that Iran, 19 news and information sources, some clearly among the best, most dependable and trustworthy in the world, will be silenced."

Blaming a "very real worldwide conspiracy," Press TV accused Eutelsat of being a person, not a company: "Eutelsat says it is European, but it is actually Israeli."

The report continued: "When Eutelsat chose to choke off Iran and end free speech in Europe, many spoke up but none pointed a finger at Israel and their desire to paint Iran with a black brush."

According to a spokeswoman from Eutelsat, the measures “reinforced EU Council sanctions.”

However, Press TV denied the link, stating: "First of all, the reason given, that Eutelsat is following sanctions is a lie. There are no sanctions against Press TV or other news sources, no UN vote supports it and I would like to see the issue taken before the General Assembly."

Critics have long argued that Iran’s state-run Press TV and the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (Irib) are plagued by hatred of the West and contain anti-Semitic broadcasts denigrating Israel, Jews and Zionism.

After the Eutelsat severs service with the Iranian media outlets, viewers can still see the English-language news service, Press TV, and Arabic-language Al-Alam on the Internet.

Press TV wrote on its website on Monday, that it “has launched a Facebook petition to save the news channel across Europe after European satellite provider Eutelsat SA stopped the broadcast of several Iranian satellite channels on the order of the European Commission.”

Press TV termed Eutelsat’s decision to be “illegal.”

In July, Press TV published a report titled: “The Rape of Greece by Jewish Bankers.”

Press TV later changed its headline to “The rape of Greece by Zionist bankers.”

The story blamed Greece’s economic woes on the “Jewish mafia.”

The Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism wrote of an “Antisemitic Press TV headline.”

Dr. Wahied Wahdat-Hagh, a German-Iranian expert, documented the Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism on the German language Irib station. He has long argued for a ban of Irib and other Iranian outlets in Germany.

According to Wahdat-Hagh, Irib has featured the British historian David Irving as “bring[ing] the hypocrisy of the Zionist allegations to light.” Wahdat-Hagh wrote, “IRIB defends in the same article the Holocaust denier Irving.”

Irib lavished praise on French Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy.

Benjamin Weinthal, Jerusalem Post Correspondent contributed to this report.