In a post on his Twitter account on Friday, Hamid Baeidinejad said the embassy has sent a formal letter to Ofcom to complain against the Persian-language UK-based TV channels, including Iran International, BBC Persian and Manoto, for their politically-motivated misreporting on the recent developments in Iran and calling for widespread violence against Iranian civilian institutions.
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the UK government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers across the television, radio, telecoms and postal sectors.
Following a hike in the price of gasoline last week, a number of Iranian cities saw sporadic protests that turned violent in some cases. A number of banks and government buildings were set ablaze.
Meanwhile, anti-Iranian media outlets, including those based in the UK, voiced support for the rioters who took advantage of the protests in a number of Iranian cities.
In an address on Sunday morning, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei warned that the sporadic protests and acts of vandalism in Iran would create insecurity.
Describing insecurity as the worst calamity for society, the Leader said that “all evil centers in the world” have mobilized efforts in recent days to encourage unrest in Iran.
Ayatollah Khamenei also called on the Iranian authorities to be careful that the rise in the price of fuel would not increase the price of other commodities.
The Leader also called on the people to separate themselves from a group of thugs who are encouraged by the foreign-based anti-Iranian front to foment insecurity.