Iranian MP urges reaction to Saudi TV reports

An Iranian parliament member on Monday urged the Foreign Ministry to seriously deal with the Saudi owned TV channel al-Arabiya for distorting Iran's image at its news programs.

Al-Arabiya, a leading pan-Arab satellite news channel. Al-Arabiya is part of the MBC Group – a news and entertainment broadcaster – owned and chaired by Sheikh Waleed al-Ibrahim, a brother-in-law of Saudi Arabia's late King Fahd. It moved its headquarters from London to Dubai in 2003

Hossein Sobhani-Nia, a member of Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission also called on the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to counter what he described as insidious acts by the al-Arabiya TV channel.

He urged the Saudi channel to reconsider its past propagation policies regarding Iran and make changes in its approach toward the country.

The Iranian MP said that despite Iran-Saudi amicable and strategic ties, the al-Arabiya TV channel tries to provoke public opinion against the Islamic Republic of Iran through its extremist approach. He reiterated that the Majlis deputies would follow up such issues with great interest.