Press TV

Press TV is an international television and digital-news brand operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Iran’s state broadcasting organization. Based in Tehran, the channel was launched in July 2007 as a 24-hour service intended to present Iranian perspectives on international affairs, particularly conflicts and political questions involving the Middle East. Its creation followed earlier Iranian experiments with overseas and multilingual broadcasting, including an English-language international service established in the 1970s and the multilingual Sahar network launched by IRIB in 1997. The channel was designed to compete for international audiences with established English-language news services such as BBC World News, CNN International and Al Jazeera English. Iranian officials described the project as an effort to provide an alternative to what they regarded as Western media bias and to give greater visibility to Iranian foreign-policy positions, Shi'a political viewpoints and groups or governments critical of the United States and its allies. Press TV’s programming has included rolling news, interviews, documentaries, political discussion, opinion programming and reports from correspondents outside Iran. Its website extends the brand into written news, video and commentary. Press TV has operated internationally through a Tehran-based production structure and, during its early years, a London operation involved in programming and reporting. The channel has targeted audiences across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia, parts of Africa and Latin America. It has also been associated with Iran’s broader international media strategy alongside the Arabic-language Al-Alam News Network. Its editorial identity is strongly aligned with the Iranian government’s foreign-policy narrative, including opposition to sanctions on Iran, criticism of Western military intervention and support for Palestinian and other anti-Western political causes. The brand has attracted sustained criticism from journalists, regulators, Jewish organizations and media-monitoring groups. Critics have characterized it as a state propaganda outlet and have alleged selective framing, insufficient impartiality, conspiracy-oriented commentary, antisemitic material and the publication or broadcast of Holocaust denial. Press TV has disputed some of these accusations and has presented itself as an alternative source challenging dominant Western narratives. Its most consequential regulatory controversy in the United Kingdom concerned the broadcast of an interview with Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari, who said that the segment was a coerced confession recorded after his imprisonment and torture in Iran. UK broadcasting authorities later revoked Press TV’s UK licence after finding serious breaches connected with the interview. The channel remains a state-controlled news and public-diplomacy platform rather than a publicly traded media company. IRIB is legally responsible for radio and television broadcasting inside Iran, and its head is appointed by Iran’s supreme leader. This institutional relationship places Press TV within Iran’s official broadcasting system and distinguishes it from privately owned international news brands. Information about its present staffing, financial position and corporate structure is not sufficiently established in the supplied reference material.

Iran’s international broadcasting ambitions predate Press TV. The country established an English-language international television service in 1976, while IRIB later launched Sahar TV in 1997 with multilingual programming that included English. Press TV emerged from this broader effort to communicate Iranian positions beyond the country’s borders through television and, later, digital media. The channel began operations in 2007. Its website appeared in January of that year, while the television service was introduced during the summer, with the launch generally dated to 8 July 2007. The stated purpose was to provide global audiences with news, images and arguments from an Iranian viewpoint and to challenge the framing used by Western international broadcasters. Its editorial agenda concentrated on Middle Eastern conflicts, the consequences of the United States occupation of Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, sanctions and disputes over Iran’s nuclear and foreign policy. The launch formed part of a wider Iranian media strategy that also included the Arabic-language Al-Alam network. Press TV’s early international organization included activity in London. Roshan Muhammed Salih served as its first London news editor and chief correspondent. London-based programming included interviews and talk shows, while much of the news and documentary production was handled in Tehran. By 2009, the organization was reported to employ more than 400 people globally and to have an annual budget exceeding eight million US dollars; those figures describe the period around 2009 and should not be treated as current financial data. From its beginning, Press TV’s identity was inseparable from its relationship with IRIB and the Iranian state. IRIB is the legally authorized broadcaster inside Iran, and its leadership is appointed by Iran’s supreme leader. As a result, Press TV has been viewed by supporters as a vehicle for perspectives underrepresented in Western media, while critics have treated it as an official Iranian propaganda outlet. Its news bulletins have frequently featured Iranian officials, diplomats and commentators whose positions accord with government policy. The channel’s first major regulatory confrontation in the United Kingdom concerned impartiality. In 2009, Ofcom ruled that two George Galloway phone-in programs about the Gaza War breached broadcasting rules because they did not provide sufficient representation of opposing viewpoints. Press TV argued that the programs reflected the balance of opinion among contributors. A more serious dispute followed the treatment of Maziar Bahari, a journalist detained in Iran after covering the disputed 2009 presidential-election protests. Bahari said that a short interview broadcast by Press TV was recorded after torture and threats and that it amounted to a forced confession. The interview did not disclose to viewers the circumstances in which it had been made. The controversy contributed to the revocation of Press TV’s UK licence in 2012, although the channel continued distributing content internationally through other means. Press TV has also faced repeated criticism over antisemitic conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial. Its website and broadcasts have been accused of giving space to Holocaust deniers and commentators who blamed Jews or Israel for events including the September 11 attacks, the Iraq War, the Charlie Hebdo attack and the COVID-19 pandemic. These incidents generated condemnation from organizations including the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Chronicle, and reinforced the channel’s reputation among critics as an ideological rather than conventionally impartial news service. The organization has additionally published or aired controversial reports about Canada, including allegations involving Indigenous children and child-protection services. Canadian officials, Indigenous leaders and researchers rejected the claims and attributed child-welfare disparities to documented social and economic conditions rather than the covert schemes described by the programs. Press TV remains an active Iranian international media brand with television and online output. Its continuing role is best understood as a combination of news provider, opinion platform and state-backed public-diplomacy instrument. Its reach and influence are difficult to assess precisely from the available material, and current ownership, executive staffing, budgets and audience figures are not established here.

• 2012

  UK licence revoked

  [1]Press TVen.wikipedia.org

  Press TV’s UK broadcasting authorization was revoked following regulatory action connected with its broadcast of the Maziar Bahari interview.

• 2009

  UK regulator rules against two phone-in programs

  [1]Press TVen.wikipedia.org

  Ofcom found that Gaza War coverage on two George Galloway-hosted programs did not satisfy impartiality requirements.

• 2007

  Press TV launches

  [1]Press TVen.wikipedia.org

  Press TV introduced its international 24-hour television service, primarily in English, with headquarters in Tehran.

• 1997

  Sahar TV launches

  [1]Press TVen.wikipedia.org

  IRIB launched the multilingual Sahar network, another predecessor within Iran’s international broadcasting system.

• 1976

  Iran establishes an early English-language international television service

  [1]Press TVen.wikipedia.org

  Iran began developing international English-language broadcasting decades before Press TV, creating an institutional precedent for the later channel.

An Iranian state-backed international news and public-diplomacy outlet presenting Iran-aligned perspectives on global affairs, with particular emphasis on the Middle East and criticism of Western foreign policy.

• Television news · 2007

  Press TV international channel

  A 24-hour international news channel launched in 2007 and headquartered in Tehran. Its output combines rolling news, interviews, political discussion, documentaries and correspondent reports, with coverage shaped around Iranian perspectives on international affairs and especially Middle Eastern politics.

• Digital news · 2007

  Press TV website

  The brand’s online platform publishes written reports, video, commentary and program material. It extends the television service’s international distribution and provides a searchable outlet for news and opinion outside conventional broadcast schedules.

• Television news

  French-language programming

  Press TV also broadcasts in French, enabling the organization to reach additional audiences in francophone markets. The supplied reference material does not establish the precise launch date, schedule or current scale of this service.

• 2020

  COVID-19 conspiracy claims

  During the coronavirus pandemic, Press TV broadcast allegations that Zionist or Israeli actors had developed a more dangerous strain of the virus against Iran.

  Source

• 2015

  Antisemitic conspiracy claims

  Press TV website articles and broadcasts were criticized for attributing terrorism and geopolitical events to Jews, Israel or alleged Zionist networks, including claims connected with the Charlie Hebdo attack and September 11.

  Source

• 2012

  Revocation of UK broadcasting licence

  The UK regulator revoked Press TV’s licence after the Bahari interview dispute and related regulatory findings, making the case the channel’s most significant UK broadcasting controversy.

  Source

• 2010

  Maziar Bahari forced-confession allegations

  Maziar Bahari alleged that a Press TV interview broadcast after his imprisonment in Iran had been obtained through torture and threats and was misleadingly presented as an ordinary interview.

  Source

• 2009

  Impartiality findings over Gaza War programs

  Ofcom found that two phone-in programs hosted by George Galloway did not provide adequate impartiality in their coverage of the Gaza War.

  Source

• 2008

  Publication of Holocaust-denial material

  Press TV’s website was criticized for publishing material denying or minimizing the Holocaust, including an article disputing the historical and scientific evidence concerning Auschwitz gas chambers.

  Source

Read more

• 2012Canada-focused reporting

  Canada

  Following the breakdown of Canada-Iran diplomatic relations, Press TV increased reporting focused on Canada and broadcast allegations concerning Indigenous children, refugees, land rights and protest policing.

  Outcome. Canadian officials, Indigenous leaders and researchers rejected central claims in the reports; the coverage became an example cited by critics of Press TV’s adversarial and conspiratorial framing.

  Source
• 2007Alternative international news narrative

  Global · Middle East · Europe · North America

  The launch campaign and editorial mission positioned Press TV as an alternative to BBC World News, CNN International and other Western broadcasters, emphasizing Iranian and broader non-Western interpretations of world events.

  Outcome. The channel established an international broadcast and digital presence but also became the subject of sustained criticism over state influence and editorial bias.

  Source

• 2012

  Continue international distribution after UK regulatory actionOther

  Background

  The UK broadcasting regulator revoked Press TV’s UK licence following controversy over the Maziar Bahari interview.

  Action taken

  Press TV lost its UK broadcasting authorization while continuing its international media activity through other distribution and online channels.

  Aftermath

  The decision intensified criticism of the organization’s editorial independence and treatment of interview subjects.

  Source

• 2007

  Launch an English-language international news networkProduct launch

  Background

  Iran sought a stronger international media presence and believed Western broadcasters presented Iran and Middle Eastern affairs unfairly.

  Action taken

  IRIB launched Press TV as a 24-hour international television and digital-news service, later adding or maintaining French-language output.

  Aftermath

  The channel gained an international distribution platform while becoming closely identified with Iranian state messaging.

  Source

1. 1Press TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Press TV official websitepresstv.ir