Is Iran’s national broadcaster being pushed to brink of irrelevance?
Iran's national broadcasting monopoly IRIB continues to play a partisan role in the country.
![IRIB.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2019/08/IRIB.jpg/IRIB.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=GSrW7LoM)
A prominent Iranian TV commentator's move to the United Kingdom to join an opposition station after a long career at Iran’s state TV has revived a longstanding debate over the public approval of IRIB, the sole national broadcaster holding a monopoly over domestic radio and television services in Iran.
Mazdak Mirzaei is a 48-year-old soccer commentator and TV show host who has moved to the UK to work with Iran International, a London-based TV channel launched in May 2017, which is believed to be funded by a “secretive offshore entity and a company” whose director is a Saudi Arabian businessman with close ties to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.