Iran’s Arabic TV said “jammed from Saudi Arabia”

March 17th, 2011 - 13:05 UTC

by Andy Sennitt.

Text of report in English by Iranian newspaper Iran Daily website on 17 March

The signal of [Iranian state-run, Arabic-language] Al-Alam satellite TV network has been plagued by jamming across the Middle East and North Africa and the electronic interference reportedly is from Saudi Arabia.

The Tehran-based Arabic-language TV, whose coverage of developments in crisis-hit Bahrain has been widely watched in the Arab world, first reported jamming on its [Arabsat-operated] Badr 5 transponder on Tuesday [15 March] evening and later on Badr 6 transponder early Wednesday morning, Press TV reported.

The jamming is reportedly caused by equipment capable of simultaneously interfering with Al-Alam’s frequencies on the Badr (formerly known as Arabsat) satellite [at 26 degrees East].

The report comes after Saudi troops forced their way into Salmaniya Hospital on Wednesday and prevented doctors, nurses and relatives of patients from leaving or entering the building. Several patients undergoing treatment in the hospital were injured in clashes with the police.

Bahraini police killed at least five protesters and injured dozens more on Wednesday as they assaulted a peaceful protest camp in the capital’s Pearl Square.

The attack occurred two days after Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar dispatched troops to the diminutive Persian Gulf kingdom to silence anti-government protests.

The foreign military intervention in Bahrain was a source of concern to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who has called for a meaningful and broad-based national dialogue. The UN official urged Bahrain’s neighbours and the international community to support a dialogue process and an environment conducive to credible reform in Bahrain.

(Source: Iran Daily website, Tehran, in English 17 Mar 11 via BBC Monitoring)