A post by CAMERA Arabic.
Following the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, Iranian-American journalist Mohammad Manzarpour, who served as BBC Persian’s correspondent in Jerusalem and Gaza between 2008-2011, tweeted as follows (translation from Persian, in-bracket remarks and emphases by CAMERA Arabic):
January 2nd: “General Soleimani was one of the military masterminds of modern era, even if, like General Rommel, the government he served is subject to criticism. Iran has lost a high-ranked field general and a full-fledged soldier. His memory is cherished.”
January 3rd: “I am sure that users who celebrate the killing of an Iranian commander are by and large not Iranian, [rather] they are Persian speakers, for example the Cyber Corps of Israel, Saudi Arabia, the Barazani clan [i.e. separatist Kurds] and, of course, the brainwashed captives of Tirana [i.e. Mojahedin-e Khalq]. An Iranian, no matter how opposed to the regime s/he is [Manzarpour defines himself as “opposed to the regime”, for example here] would not go so low.”
Manzarpour’s LinkedIn profile suggests that after his return to North America from the Middle East he served as Bureau Editor in BBC Persian between 2011-2013, and as Executive Editor in Voice of America’s Persian department between 2013-2017. One can only imagine how his views, as reflected in his January 2020 tweets, have influenced his coverage and editorial policies throughout almost a decade of work in service of Western media outlets – especially when focusing on Israel and the Palestinian territories.
