The Iranian daily Kayhan, which is close to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, stated that since January 2008 the Saudi television network Al-Arabiya had been waging a minor and clandestine war on Iran, and that its Farsi-language website served to egg on Iranian opposition groups and as a platform for hostile reformist criticism of the government of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The paper added that some claim that Al-Arabiya is supported by Zionist media circles.
Majlis Committee for National Security and Foreign Policy rapporteur Kazem Jalali stated that Al-Arabiya had become "a center of schemes in the Islamic world," that maintains contacts with the superpowers and with Israel and acts to realize their interests. He added that it was not possible to expect otherwise from a network that receives prizes and gifts from Israel.
Other MPs called on the Iranian government to act against Al-Arabiya, calling it an "enemy" that causes schisms in the Islamic world, because of the Zionist and anti-Islamic elements behind the scenes. They stated that the network's dealing with the war of ethnic groups in Lebanon was proof that its aim was anti-Islamic activity.
Sources: Jomhouri-e Eslami, Iran, August 13, 2008; IRNA, Iran, August 12, 2008; Kayhan, Iran, August 10, 2008
