Iran, for some time a pariah nation, is finally suffering the reality of increasingly tough sanctions. In the past few weeks Eutelsat and Intelsat have taken down Iran’s state-backed channels, including those belonging to Press TV, its English-language propaganda station.  Now Hong Kong-based AsiaSat has removed all Iranian TV and radio channels “in line with a US law recently signed by President Obama,” it said a statement.

Last Friday President Obama signed into law an extension to the previous emergency sanctions on Iran. Some 37 per cent of AsiaSat’s shares are owned by the General Electric which itself is owned by an American company. The US rules forbid American companies from doing business with Iran.

In a flagrant violation of the freedom of speech, two satellite providers Eutelsat SA and Intelsat SA stopped the broadcast of several Iranian satellite channels in October, citing pressure by the European Union.

Other posts by Chris Forrester:

1. Optimism under threat at SES
2. Rivada visits Terran Orbital’s manufacturing HQ
3. Avanti wins spectrum debt obligation case
4. SpaceX breaks records for re-use launchers
5. IRIS2 already in trouble?
6. Intelsat contemplates next steps
7. SpaceX: 2.7m customers and $180bn value
8. Boeing, Virgin Galactic in court battle
9. Jupiter-3 a changemaker

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