Nilesat blocks Hezbollah-backed Al Manar channel

Egyptian satellite operator Nilesat has stopped transmitting broadcasts from Al Manar, the TV channel run by Lebanon’s Shi’a militia group Hezbollah, according to a report by AP. This is perhaps the latest move in escalating tensions between the Iranian-backed organisation and Sunni Arab countries in the region.

Al Manar, the official station of the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah, briefly went off air after its carrier, Egypt’s Nilesat, dropped the channel. Technicians scrambled to reprogramme satellite receivers after the station switched its broadcast to Russia’s Express satellite provider in Lebanon.

The Egyptian satellite operator has also told the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications that its contract with the Lebanese state expired in 2015, so it would cease broadcasting from the government earth station in Jouret Al Ballout. As a result, concern has been raised locally that Lebanese TV channels, including TeleLiban, Al Jadeed, and NBN, may also be blocked by Nilesat.

Lebanon’s state news agency reported that the Egyptian satellite company Nilesat informed the country’s Information Ministry on Tuesday of its intention to drop Al Manar’s broadcasts, saying they “provoke sectarian strife.”

Al Manar is popular among Hezbollah supporters but is widely watched by others, particularly for regional news and updates on the Syria conflict. Its political reports openly favor pro-Iranian perspectives over pro-Saudi ones. It also broadcasts cooking and exercise shows, educational programs and documentaries.

The Arab League designated Hezbollah a terrorist organisation in March.

It could take days for Al Manar to resume its transmission across the Middle East as it negotiates with various satellite providers, according to an official at the station who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.