Report: Iran Sets up News Operations Center in Beirut
Iran has established an operations bureau in Beirut to manage the content of news in dozens of media outlets, a well-informed Lebanese source said in remarks published on Thursday.
The source told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that the news center aims to organize the work and campaigns of the media outlets closely linked to Hizbullah.
It includes analysts who appear on Lebanese and Arab TV screens to defend the party's stances without revealing their affiliation to Hizbullah or Iran, the source said.
According to Asharq al-Awsat, a decision made by the information ministers of the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council this week to take legal measures against Hizbullah-affiliated channels, production companies and producers created a shock in the Lebanese media.
The newspaper quoted well-informed Arab sources as saying that the GCC decision will not just apply to Hizbullah's al-Manar TV but also to other channels, newspapers and websites that are fully or partly funded by Iran and the party.
The move by the Saudi-led bloc of six Gulf nations on Tuesday came less than a week after the GCC blacklisted Hizbullah.
Last month, Saudi Arabia announced it was cutting $4 billion in aid to the Lebanese army and security forces after accusing Beirut authorities of falling under Hizbullah's influence.
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