Should we be embarrassed when we read a press release about the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and we nod in agreement? Well, you be the judge. A story put out by the Mehr news agency accuses BBC employees of “ill-intentioned activities inside Iran.” Now, we know a thing or two about the topic of BBC’s ill intentions, from our own experience. And many a time we were ready to go do something about it, until we recalled that in a democracy you can’t just go and arrest reporters with excellent British accents just because you know they’re intentionally skewing the news.
But in Iran you can definitely do something about it…
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ center dealing with organized crimes described the BBC’s role in the soft warfare campaign against Iran as “active”, “effective,” and “systematic,” saying the broadcaster’s activities had been carried out with the financial support of anti-revolutionary groups.
We find ourselves suppressing a cry of “Yes! More power to you, cute, democracy-crushing revolutionary guards, go for it! Tell them Judea and Samaria are not “occupied,” only “disputed,” and that Jewish settlements aren’t illegal according to the Geneva convention, because the land on which they sit was never recognized internationally as being owned by anyone – meaning that it’s not illegal for civilians from across what used to be the border to move in.
But, of course, that’s not why those British folks were picked up by the Iranians. Instead they’re being accused of spying, which is sooo boring, because we all know the charges are trumped up. Why not stick with “Those Limeys are lying through their crooked teeth,” and for once the whole world would have cheered you on?
No, they had to go and say this:
“In line with the British government’s neo-colonialist attitude and through the use of new and complicated intelligence methods, [the BBC] had created a complicated intelligence network with the aim of collecting specific and purposeful intelligence.”
Yada yada yada…
The statement goes on to say that a number of BBC network members were arrested and their cases referred to the judicial authorities during the first phase of the operation, carried out last summer.
During the second phase of the operation, lawsuits were filed against 24 main members. Lawsuits have also been filed against 10 members who are currently living abroad.
So there’s hope?