Press TV, the English-language channel of Iran’s state broadcaster, has been accused of operating as a base for its Western intelligence-gathering and propaganda campaigns, as well as a front to recruit assets.
The channel, which has a studio in London and operates openly, was also alleged to have effectively created a “target list for terrorists” with reports on Jewish schools, community charities and organisations, according to The Telegraph.
In recent years, Iran’s English-language broadcaster has been sanctioned by the EU, Australia, Canada and the US, with authorities citing its broadcast of coerced confessions from detainees, including journalists and activists.
Press TV’s London office now plays a “more significant” role in Tehran’s spy recruitment, due to Britain’s “permissive environment”, former American intelligence operator, Jonathan Hackett, told The Telegraph.
Hackett claimed that some Press TV journalists were used by the regime to identify and evaluate potential recruits, noting that using journalistic cover for intelligence work is not unique to Iran.
He explained that this could involve cultivating contacts before handing them over to more experienced operatives.
Drawing on his two decades leading US Marine Corps intelligence operations, he added that a journalistic role provides a natural reason to speak with people and can offer greater access to UK government officials.
In 2012, Press TV had its licence to broadcast in Britain revoked by Ofcom, and it has also been banned on YouTube. But it continues to use social media sites including Instagram, Facebook and X to promote its shows, with more than one million followers across those platforms.
One source reportedly told The Telegraph: “They are essentially providing a target list for terrorists. Shutting Press TV down would send a strong message – and it would reassure the Jewish community.”
Downing Street officials, as well as advisers at the Foreign Office, Home Office and the Treasury, are reported to have held discussions in recent months about sanctioning Press TV.
As the war with Iran enters its second month – sparked by a joint US-Israeli pre-emptive strike that killed former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei – the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is believed to be operating with increasing autonomy and may have activated sleeper agents worldwide.
The New York Post reported on Saturday that as many as 1,000 former members of the IRGC may be embedded across Canada, posing an urgent security threat to the country and to the US.
Michelle Rempel Garner, a member of Canada’s opposition and “shadow minister” for immigration, said regime-affiliated figures routinely exploit Canada’s lax immigration policies to gain entry.
“It’s a huge problem,” she told the Post. “That’s not just a concern for our country, it’s a concern for our security partners and allies.
“They go on to request asylum and get deportation stays; the system has to change.”
The Islamic Republic is reported to maintain “sleeper cells” worldwide and may have issued an “operational trigger” to activate them following the outbreak of conflict with the US and Israel, according to an encrypted message intercepted by American intelligence earlier this month.
According to the Canadian Border Services Agency, the government has identified 32 high-ranking Iranian officials living in the country, which they have now flagged for deportation.
Figures allegedly marked for deportation include the former deputy director general of the Iranian Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade, who arrived in Canada in 2022; former director general of Iran’s Ministry of Roads; a senior spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Interior who was given deportation orders in March 2024 but is yet to leave the country; and director general of Iran’s vice-presidency for Science and Technology, who was also given deportation orders in early 2024 but is still in the country.
The JC has contacted Press TV for comment.
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