Iran jammed DW

International broadcasters like Deutsche Welle are broadcasting again in Iran and the surrounding region, after their programming was jammed, apparently by the government in Tehran.

The Iranian government had reportedly blocked transmissions from a number of international news outlets, including Deutsche Welle, the BBC and Voice of America.

Deutsche Welle Director General Erik Betterman submitted a letter of protest to the Iranian ambassador in Berlin, blaming Iran for the disruption of DW broadcasts since Wednesday.

"This is a serious matter. For the second time our television transmissions have been jammed or disrupted," he said. "And this doesn't only affect our transmissions to Iran. All the radio programs we play over to our partner stations are affected, and you can't receive our television from Moscow to the Atlantic.

"Iran has been disrupting our radio programs for many decades in this manner, and also our website. This is the case not only with Deutsche Welle, but nearly all of the Western media," he added.

Deutsche Welle said the Iranian block affected services on the Hotbird satellite, which cover areas across Europe and the Middle East.

These complaints came as the US accused Iran of a total information blockade, jamming access to Google and other popular websites within Iran.

On Thursday, Iranians marked the 31st anniversary of the toppling of the US-backed shah and the ushering in of the Islamic Republic. Opposition sites reported clashes between pro- and anti-government supporters throughout the course of the day.

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Editor: Andreas Illmer