US slams Iran for blocking BBC`s Persian service

US slammed Iran for jamming the Persian service of BBC following coverage of the mass protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and said the act underscores "hypocrisy" of the nation`s leadership.

Washington: US on Friday slammed Iran for
jamming the Persian service of BBC following coverage of the
mass protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and
said the act underscores "hypocrisy" of the nation`s
leadership.

"The recent arrests and effort to block international
media outlets underscore the hypocrisy of the Iranian
leadership... For all of its empty talk about Egypt, the
government of Iran should allow the Iranian people the same
universal right to peacefully assemble, demonstrate and
communicate in Tehran that the people are exercising in
Cairo," Tommy Vietor, US National Security Council Spokesman,
said.

The White House official said "Governments must
respect the rights of their people and be responsive to their
aspirations." The US comments came after reports that BBC`s
Persian Service has been jammed by Iran because it is covering
Egyptian uprising.

Meanwhile, Peter Horrocks, head of BBC Global News,
called for an end to the jamming, saying: "It is wrong that
our significant Iranian audience is being denied impartial
news and information... The BBC will not stop covering Egypt
and it will continue to broadcast to the Iranian people."

It appears the trigger point was a joint broadcast on
Wednesday by the corporation`s Persian and Arabic services in
which Iranian and Egyptian callers exchanged views, BBC said.

"Many Iranian viewers said during the interactive
programme that they were watching events unfold in Cairo
extremely closely," the channel said in a statement.

BBC Persian TV launched in 2009 and has suffered
similar attempts to interfere with its signal intermittently
ever since. But it continues to stream live online, BBC said.

PTI

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