BBC World Service urges the UN to condemn Iran’s allegations of ‘media terrorism’ and ‘media warfare’
The BBC World Service has today submitted a formal response to UN experts expressing deep concern over Iran’s new and extreme language used in relation to BBC News Persian. It has urged the UN experts to condemn Iran’s conduct towards the BBC and Iran’s attempts to frame independent journalism as a form of “terrorism” and “warfare”.
Jennifer Robinson and Associate Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, act for the BBC World Service in this urgent appeal and in all UN engagement on the harassment and targeting of BBC News Persian staff and their families in Iran.
In June 2025, the BBC World Service submitted an urgent appeal to these experts raising concern with the escalation of harassment, targeting and threats towards the BBC News Persian staff – and their families in Iran – in the wake of the service’s reporting on the Iran-Israel conflict. The BBC also urged the UN to take action after the publication of the report by the Intelligence and Security Committee of the UK Parliament in July this year about Iran’s transnational repression, which confirmed that BBC News Persian was a “prominent target” of transnational repression from Iran and that there was a “high risk of physical attacks” in the UK.
As a result, the UN experts issued a communication to Iran setting out alleged threats in the UK, targeting of family members, and the use of transnational repression. They requested information from Iran, including on the steps it was taking to ensure BBC News Persian and other journalists could carry out their work safely and in line with international human rights law.
In September 2025, Iran responded to the UN communication. In its response, Iran justified its ongoing, unlawful actions towards BBC journalists. Using extreme language regarding the BBC, Iran accused BBC News Persian of engaging in “media warfare”, “trying to target the security of the country by influencing the beliefs, culture, politics and behaviour of society”. Iran called on the UN experts to “evaluate” the work of Western media such as the BBC as “media terrorism”, the first time it has used this language to describe the BBC’s work.
Iran’s response also marks the first time its government has officially acknowledged that legal action has been taken against BBC News Persian staff in Iran. Before this admission, attempts to obtain information on this from the judiciary in Iran have failed.
The submission filed today expresses alarm over the extreme language used by the Islamic Republic of Iran in relation to the BBC’s reporting and over Iran’s attempt to justify the ongoing unlawful actions towards BBC staff and their families. The submission was filed with six Special Procedures mandate-holders: the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression; the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions; the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its Causes and Consequences; the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism; and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
The submission urges the UN experts to condemn Iran’s conduct towards the BBC and Iran’s attempts to frame independent journalism as a form of terrorism and warfare. The BBC calls on the UN experts to request further information from Iran about the legal action against the BBC. It urges them to directly raise concern with Iran about efforts to characterise BBC journalism as “media terrorism” or “soft war” and about abusing national security and counter-terrorism laws to target and harass journalists and their families.
Tarik Kafala, Middle East and North Africa Regional Director, BBC World Service, said: “The extreme, highly alarming language the Islamic Republic of Iran has used in an official government filings with the UN demonstrates the Iranian authorities’ attitude towards independent journalism and our reporting of the country. We are deeply concerned that, instead of putting an end to the harassment and threats to our staff and their families in Iran, with this language Iran signals new forms of targeting them, now justifying their persecution with counter-terrorism and national security laws. We condemn these actions.”
Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said:
“The UN must condemn the escalating intimidation and persecution of media workers by the Iranian state. Journalists at BBC Persian are paying a huge personal price simply for doing their job. For over a decade Iranian authorities have attempted to terrorise journalists and stymie reporting - including through threats, travel bans, passport confiscations, arbitrary interrogations, proxy punishments against family members, and even attempts to hire criminals to harm them on UK soil.
“It takes enormous courage and the deepest sense of duty for a journalist to continue pursuing the truth in the face of relentless state repression. The NUJ stands in solidarity with journalists under threat and demands an end to the Iranian state’s campaign against press freedom and journalists’ rights.
“The NUJ also calls on the BBC and the British government to demonstrate their commitment to BBC Persian and the World Service by re-establishing full funding so that journalists have the resources and support needed to continue serving audiences around the world with independent, impartial, trusted news.”
BBC News Persian is part of the BBC World Service.
