BBC team in Iranian capital to produce reports

Rasa - A team from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) arrived in Tehran on Wednesday, after Iran granted the media giant permission to report from inside the country under limited circumstances.

News ID: 3138

Date: 13 August 2015 - 17:45

RNA - Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency on Wednesday, Mohammad Mansour Kooshesh, the head of foreign press department of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance said the team has made the trip to Iran to produce news reports from the country for a one-week period, Tasnim reported.

The team includes Anne Elizabeth Moore, a well-known author from the US, Kim Ghattas, a Dutch-born reporter, Nikki Millard from Australia, the Iranian official said.

Earlier last week, Hossein Noushabadi, spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, had told Tasnim that the “BBC World News” has been given permission for news reporting on the nuclear issue in Iran.

Such temporary permissions are not rare in Iran, he said, pointing to those given to some foreign media for the coverage of important developments such as elections.

Noushabadi emphasized that the permission, which was given in coordination with the Iranian police and intelligence and security centers, is for a “limited period” and that the reporters have accepted the “necessary undertakings” in accordance with Iran’s regulations.

The BBC World News office in Tehran is not completely closed and requests reporting permission on particular occasions, he went on to say.

The spokesman, however, made it clear that the ministry does not recognize the BBC Persian as a media outlet.

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