Saudi Media Regulatory Summons MBC Officials

The General Authority of Media Regulation (GAMR) announced in a statement that it had called in managers of the Dubai-based channel, and highlighted that the report was “in violation of the Kingdom’s media regulations and policy.”

The commission emphasized that “it continuously monitors the extent of the media’s commitment to the Kingdom’s media regulations and content controls, and will not be lenient towards any violation.”

Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission has already revoked the Saudi-owned MBC television channel license in the country and ordered the broadcaster to close its bureau in Baghdad.

The MBC report categorized the Axis of Resistance, which includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Palestinian Hamas, Yemen’s Ansarullah, and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, alongside figures such as Osama bin Laden, labeling them as terrorists.

Named in the report were Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated in an Israeli strike on southern Beirut last month, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Tehran in late July.

It also mentioned Haniyeh’s successor Yahya Sinwar, who organized Operation Al-Aqsa Flood (Storm) inside southern Israeli-occupied territories on October 7 last year.