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Saudi media giant MBC Group has dismissed its news director, Musaed Al-Thubaiti, after airing a report in which regional resistance leaders were described as “terrorists”. The controversial segment, titled “The Millennium of Deliverance from Terrorists”, was broadcast on 17 October and has since been removed from the company website.
The report equated resistance figures such as the late Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq with Osama Bin Laden.
Haniyeh’s successor, Yahya Sinwar — killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on 16 October — was also characterised as “the new face of terrorism.” The late deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Units’ Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis and Iran’s Quds Force general Qasem Soleimani were referenced negatively as well.
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Following the segment’s airing, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Media Regulation summoned MBC officials, announcing an investigation for breaching the Kingdom’s media regulations. Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission also responded, revoking MBC’s licence and closing its Baghdad office after protesters stormed the building on 19 October, damaging equipment and setting parts of it on fire.
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has since issued a scathing response, accusing MBC of “clear bias” and “serving the enemies of the Palestinian people.” Iraqi MP Mustafa Sanad, another vocal critic of the report, vowed further action to ban MBC operations in the country.
Saudi Arabia’s media regulatory body claimed that it “will not be lenient towards any violation” of its policies, as the backlash against the offensive portrayal of resistance leaders continued across the region. Iran’s Tehran Times has described MBC’s report as being “in line with Israel’s nefarious activities against regional resistance leaders and commanders,” noting that “the Saudi-owned channel has condoned Israel’s assassination campaigns and turned into the regime’s mouthpiece.”
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