Iran’s top police official has slammed the effects of satellite TV programming on Iranian society and says police have intensified efforts to confiscate receiver dishes in homes.
“Satellite networks are a base of operations against our country,” said Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam. “Their goal is to spread lies, defame, accuse and create disturbances and social unrest.”
“Our country is not too vulnerable to the political activities of the satellite programming,” he said. “It is the moral aspect of this issue that is proving more destructive.” He added that Iranians can see the adverse effect of these programs on their families.
Ahmadi Moghaddam said satellite programs “corrupt the foundation of the family and defuse the effects of morality and religion by introducing new role models.”
The Iranian police chief previously had reported that a campaign to confiscate satellite dishes had become three times more effective in recent months.
Six years ago, the Iranian government passed a law banning satellite dishes, although many homes are still equipped with one.
A judicial spokesman recently highlighted efforts to eradicate satellite dishes and announced that police officers can enter homes without a warrant to enforce the ban.
Over the past two years, the Islamic Republic has become increasingly concerned about satellite programming from abroad, and authorities have tried to block the signals.
