Iran's 'hate' TV channel's UK arm reported to police under national security law

An Iranian TV company registered in the UK, HispanTV, has been reported to the police under national security laws, according to a senior British politician. HispanTV is part of the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (Irib) and has been accused of acting as Iran's "long arm of hate." The UK's shadow Home Office Minister, Alicia Kearns, complained to the Metropolitan Police that HispanTV was allegedly breaching the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.

HispanTV was registered in the UK in 2011, and its current director and majority shareholder, Seyedmehdi Mirtaleb, was an executive producer at Press TV, Iran's English-language state broadcaster, from 2009 until 2020. Press TV's English-language service was banned in 2012 due to broadcasting an interview with imprisoned journalist Maziar Bahari without due process.

HispanTV's Spanish-language service launched in 2011 and was officially inaugurated by then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2012. The channel aims to limit supremacy for dominance-seekers and improve ties between Iran and Spanish-speaking nations. HispanTV has been criticized for promoting anti-Semitic hate and anti-Israel prejudice.

Since 2025, the UK requires individuals carrying out political influence activities at the direction of foreign powers to register their arrangements, aimed at increasing transparency and protecting the UK from covert state-backed interference.