Iran shuts US-backed TV offices

The Islamic Republic of Iran has shut down the offices of the US-sponsored Ahl-e-Bait TV, a satellite television channel seeking to sow division between Shias and Sunnis.

The Special Court for Clerics ordered the closure of the offices of Ahl-e-Bait TV in the cities of Qom and Isfahan, Mashreq website reported on Wednesday.

The channel is apparently run by an Afghan cleric named Hassan Allahyari in the US, where its headquarters is located.

The satellite television channel had launched offices in the Iranian cities of Qom, Mashhad and Isfahan.

The Special Court for Clerics has in a ‘belated move’ arrested some officials of the channel in Qom and Isfahan and halted activities of the TV channel.

The decision for the closure of the Ahl-e-Bait TV offices comes after it was revealed that the US-backed channel aims to sow discord between Sunnis and Shias.