ran ‘jamming Al-Jazeera broadcasts’

DUBAI, (AFP) — Iran is jamming broadcasts by Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera, satellite operator
Arabsat said in a statement received on Tuesday.
“Al-Jazeera is affected… from two different locations in Iran,” near Tehran and near the northwestern city of Maragheh, it said, adding that the cause was located at the request of the pan-Arab news channel.
The satellite television on Sunday announced a new frequency for Arabsat viewers due to “continued interference.”
“Over the past few months, Al-Jazeera has faced sustained interference to our satellite transmissions,” it said in a statement.
“These occurrences will only strengthen our commitment to continue providing our award-winning coverage across the region 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said the broadcaster.
The influential channel has been criticised by many Arab governments for its coverage of the anti-regime uprisings which have swept the region since the start of 2011.
Officials in Iran’s regional ally Syria, have repeatedly slammed Al-Jazeera’s coverage of the deadly revolt in the country, which has largely remained sealed off from the foreign media.
The Qatari channel has relied for its coverage on footage of protests posted on the Internet from Syrian activists’ mobile phones and webcams.
Egypt’s Nilesat satellite operator suspended carrying Al-Jazeera on January 30, 2011 for its coverage of demonstrations before the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak.
Last February, Al-Jazeera accused Libya’s intelligence services of jamming its broadcasts in the country where a NATO-backed uprising ended the rule of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.