BAGHDAD — Iraq’s media regulatory commission announced on Saturday its intention to revoke the operating license of a Saudi television station, MBC, in response to a report that provoked outrage among supporters of Iraqi militias.
The decision came shortly after a group of militia supporters stormed and vandalized MBC’s Baghdad office, protesting against a segment that labeled several Iranian-linked militant figures, including a notable Iraqi militia leader, as “terrorists.”
The controversial report included high-profile names such as former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, alongside Iranian-backed figures like Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a prominent Iraqi militant and deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces.
In a statement, Iraq’s Media and Communications Commission criticized MBC for breaching broadcasting regulations by disparaging the “martyrs” and “heroes” of resistance against Israel, which it referred to as the “usurping Zionist entity.” Consequently, the commission vowed to cancel the station’s broadcasting license.
MBC had already ceased operations in Iraq following the attack on its office.
In a related development, Saudi Arabia’s media regulatory authority indicated that it had initiated an investigation into “officials of a TV channel” regarding the report that violated the Kingdom’s media policies, although it did not specifically name MBC.
This incident unfolds amid escalating tensions in the region, particularly in light of ongoing conflicts involving Israel, Hamas, and Hezbollah. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have conducted drone strikes against U.S. military bases as a reaction to American support for Israel, and in recent months, they have increasingly targeted Israel directly.
