Pressure of Truth
Exposing the spin on all sides of the news.
Outlet profile

Iran International

UK-based, Saudi-linked, anti-Islamic Republic

Owned byVolant Media UK Ltd, a London-registered company. Original shares were held by British-Saudi businessman Adel Abdulkarim Alabdulkarim; in December 2025 they were transferred to Info-Cast Cayman Limited, an offshore entity whose beneficial controller has been linked to the Saudi Research and Media Group.
FundingFunded by private shareholders with documented ties to Saudi-connected investors. At launch, funding of roughly $250 million was reportedly sourced from Saudi circles. Volant Media UK accumulated more than £410 million in losses over five years, covered by shareholder financing. In December 2025 shareholders provided approximately £650 million in debt relief through a debt-to-equity conversion. The outlet denies receiving any Saudi government money.
On the administrationbroadly supportive

Background

Iran International launched in May 2017 in London as a Persian-language satellite TV channel aimed at Iranians inside Iran and in the diaspora. From the start, its funding drew scrutiny: a 2019 Guardian investigation linked its backers to Saudi Arabia and to figures close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, though the outlet and parent company Volant Media denied any government connection. The channel drew staff from BBC Persian, Voice of America, and other outlets and grew into one of the most-watched Persian-language news services globally. Its coverage has been consistently and sharply critical of Iran's Islamic Republic government; in November 2022, Tehran designated it a terrorist organization. In February 2023, following documented threats from Iran-linked operatives and advice from London's Metropolitan Police, the channel temporarily closed its UK studios and relocated to Washington, D.C., before reopening in London in September 2023. Critics — including some of its own journalists, per reporting by The Wall Street Journal — have accused management of pushing a pro-Saudi, pro-monarchy editorial line; Bloomberg described it as a 'pro-Israel broadcaster,' and it has given prominent platform to monarchist opposition figure Reza Pahlavi. A May 2026 Financial Times investigation revealed that in December 2025 Volant Media underwent a roughly £650 million debt-to-equity restructuring, with ownership transferred to an offshore Cayman Islands entity linked to the Saudi Research and Media Group, renewing questions about the outlet's independence.

Sources

  1. Iran International – Wikipedia
  2. Financial Times Reopens Iran International Funding File (OnTimeBrief, May 2026)
  3. Iran International: Inside the 'Saudi-Funded' Network Promoting Regime Change in Iran – MintPress News
  4. Iran International and the Money Behind the Narrative War – Foreign Policy in Focus
  5. Iran protests: London-based TV channel sparks Iranian leaders' ire – CNN
  6. Anti-Iran TV network's parent company received £650mn debt relief from shareholders – Press TV (reporting on FT findings)
  7. News services company running Iran International TV expands into Brussels – Press Gazette
  8. 2025–2026 Iran–United States negotiations – Wikipedia

Profile compiled 2026-07-01; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

← Back to track record