Overview
- New reporting alleges an Iranian network used Press TV’s English-language operation in London for propaganda and intelligence work, with sources describing the claims as serious but not publicly proven.
- Former US counterintelligence operative Jonathan Hackett says some Press TV journalists act as talent spotters who identify recruits before passing them to handlers in Tehran.
- The Community Security Trust says Press TV features Jewish schools, charities and individuals in ways that label them as extremists and could function as a target list for terrorists.
- Despite losing its Ofcom licence in 2012 and a YouTube ban, Press TV continues to publish on Instagram, Facebook and X to an audience of more than one million followers.
- A UK government spokesman says Britain has introduced extra steps to counter threats from Iran, as the US Treasury’s sanctions office noted in 2023 that Press TV had been used to recruit sensitive assets.