UK Faces Scrutiny Over Iranian State Media 'Arm of Hate' Operating Under National Security Law

The UK government is facing criticism for its alleged failure to address an Iranian TV company, HispanTV, which has been registered in Britain for 15 years despite its connections to the banned channel Press TV. HispanTV, which targets a Spanish-speaking audience, is part of Iran's state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (Irib) and has been accused of serving as Iran's "long arm of hate." A senior British politician recently reported HispanTV's UK operations to the police under national security legislation.

Alicia Kearns, the UK's shadow Home Office Minister, informed The National that she had lodged a complaint with the Metropolitan Police, alleging that HispanTV was in violation of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme. Records indicate that the current and former owners of HispanTV's UK entity have had close ties with Press TV, Iran's English-language state broadcaster that operated from London until its broadcasting license was revoked by Ofcom in 2012.

According to Companies House, HispanTV has been registered in the UK since January 2011. Its current registered address is on an industrial estate in north-west London. Seyedmehdi Mirtaleb, listed as the director and majority shareholder, previously served as an executive producer at Press TV in London from 2009 to 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile. While listed as a British citizen on Companies House, his nationality was previously recorded as Iranian.

Hamid Khairoldin initially registered HispanTV in the UK but resigned as director and relinquished ownership in 2014. He was also listed as a director for PressTV in the UK from 2007 to 2010. Ofcom confirmed that HispanTV has never held a broadcasting license in the UK, thus it had not acted on the company's presence. Press TV's license was revoked in 2012 following its failure to pay a £100,000 fine for broadcasting an interview conducted under duress and for breaching editorial control rules.

Shortly before Press TV's ban, it shared a Companies House-registered address with HispanTV in a west London office block. The parent organization, Irib, is subject to sanctions by the US and EU, and some of its directors have been sanctioned by the UK for overseeing programming linked to human rights violations. HispanTV's stated mission is to broadcast news, documentaries, movies, and Iranian films 24 hours a day, primarily targeting Latin American nations, although its activities within the UK remain unclear.

The UK's National Security Act, effective from this summer, mandates registration for individuals conducting political influence activities in the UK on behalf of foreign powers, aiming to enhance transparency and counter covert state-backed interference. "There is no question that it is not conducive to national security to have these types of outlets operating in the UK – they are cut-outs of the Iranian state," Ms Kearns stated, emphasizing the risks these entities pose to society.

Ms Kearns has previously raised concerns about media linked to Iran and its allies with both the police and the government, including the Houthi TV station Al Masirah TV. The National's earlier report on HispanTV's UK presence raised concerns about alleged illicit funding, visa facilitation, and intelligence gathering on political rivals. "I feel like I'm sitting in this limbo where I'm screaming and shouting and neither the police nor the government are doing anything at all," she expressed frustration.

HispanTV was founded with £1 in share capital and has filed limited accounts, being listed as dormant since 2012 with assets of £1. The Spanish-language service was launched in October 2011 and officially inaugurated by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in January 2012, who stated it would foster better ties between Iran and Spanish-speaking nations. The channel's launch coincided with Iran's efforts to build ties with South America amid sanctions over its nuclear program. HispanTV's Madrid office was closed in 2013 due to EU sanctions.

The Anti-Defamation League has described HispanTV as a "leading platform peddling anti-Semitic hate and disseminating anti-Israel prejudice and incitement across Latin America and the wider Spanish‑speaking world." A report by United Against Nuclear Iran (Uani) noted that HispanTV serves as an arm of Iran's public diplomacy outreach to Latin America, a region where Iran has invested significant political capital. Uani's policy director, Jason Brodsky, criticized the UK for harboring a "permissive environment for these media arms of the Iranian regime," especially given Irib's ties to Iranian intelligence services and past sanctions on its executives.

The continued presence of HispanTV in the UK occurs amidst an increase in attacks believed to be orchestrated by Iran, including arson attacks on Jewish institutions and Iran International TV. These attacks have been claimed by a group widely believed to be a front for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).