Cooperation with ‘terrorist media’ Iran International to incur punishment: Minister

Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance on Wednesday warned that there would be strict punishment for any cooperation with ‘Iran International’, a UK-based terrorist organization masquerading as a media network.

Speaking on the sidelines of a government meeting in Tehran, Mohammad-Mahdi Esmaeili said the punishment for collaboration with the UK-based network will be in accordance with the country’s law.

His remarks came a day after Iran’s intelligence ministry designated the UK-based, Saudi-funded Persian-language network as a "terrorist organization" responsible for instigating deadly riots in Iran.

Iran's Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib in an interview with Khamenei.ir website published on Tuesday said Iran International has been designated as a "terrorist organization" by Iran's security agencies and those operating it have been declared "wanted" by the intelligence ministry.

“From now on, any kind of connection with this terrorist organization will be considered as entering the terrorist domain and threatening the country’s national security,” he said.

The minister further emphasized that "any sort of communication" with the network will be considered as "involvement in terrorist activities and a threat to national security."

Esmaeili echoed the intelligence minister, saying Tehran does not consider the UK-based Persian media outlets as news media but “terrorist media”, as reflected in their coverage of recent deadly riots in Iran.

SS