Iran: Don't Talk to Foreign Media
medialine / Benjamin Joffe-Walt
22-Feb-2010

General warns citizens against cooperating with American and British broadcasters.

Iran's police chief warned citizens against cooperating with foreign media over the weekend, specifically accusing the state-sponsored Voice of America (VOA) and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) of operating as satellites for American and British intelligence services.

In comments published Saturday by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, Gen. Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam accused opposition supporters of working with the BBC and VOA "with the aim of weakening and overthrowing the [ruling] system."

"The BBC is the arm of MI-6 and VOA belongs to the CIA, while some people contact them and make statements against Iran," he said, referring to the foreign intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively. "All those who cooperate with foreign services by sending them photos, reports, news and video should know that all their actions are monitored... They should not think they are too smart. We want them to return and correct their behavior... We will settle accounts with them when the time comes."

Gen. Moghaddam's police forces have been at the center of the government's crackdown on opposition protests since the elections.

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