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Recent Notes
Trump Begs for Help to Re-open Strait of Hormuz
As the illegal U.S-Israeli war on Iran spreads violence throughout the Middle East, oil exports from the region have ground to a halt.
Plus: Why Trump’s war aims are looking increasingly untenable, and we ask whether Israel would use its nuclear weapons.
With Michael Walker, Ash Sarkar & Annelle Sheline.
https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/16/trump-begs-for-help-to-re-open-strait-of-hormuz/
As the illegal U.S-Israeli war on Iran spreads violence throughout the Middle East, oil exports from the region have ground to a halt.
Plus: Why Trump’s war aims are looking increasingly untenable, and we ask whether Israel would use its nuclear weapons.
With Michael Walker, Ash Sarkar & Annelle Sheline.
https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/16/trump-begs-for-help-to-re-open-strait-of-hormuz/
BBC Breaks Law by Failing to Say If It Made Calls to Israeli Embassy
The BBC has broken the law by failing to give a “substantive response” to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request asking if and when calls took place between its most senior figures and the Israeli embassy, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has found.
The ICO – the independent regulatory office that upholds information rights in the public interest – issued a decision notice on Tuesday 10 March, seen by Novara Media ahead of publication online, finding the BBC had failed to respond adequately and within the 20 working days stipulated by law.
Finding the BBC to be in breach of section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the ICO ordered the broadcaster to provide a “substantive response” to the FOI within 30 days or risk being treated as in contempt of court.
The BBC must now hand over records of any calls between the Israeli embassy – including ambassador Tzipi Hotovely – and the BBC-issued mobile phone lines of top corporation leadership. They are director-general Tim Davie, BBC board member Sir Robbie Gibb, BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and BBC chair Dr Samir Shah.
The FOI request was submitted on 6 December last year by a former civil servant, who wished to remain anonymous. He told Novara Media he was concerned by the BBC’s biased coverage of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. “If these calls exist, they represent a serious breakdown of the BBC’s Charter of Impartiality and a potential violation by the Israeli embassy of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” he said.
The applicant requested data showing when any such calls had happened, how long they lasted and whether they were inbound or outbound. From this, he hoped to see if there were any large clusters of calls around events such as Glastonbury 2025 – where punk-rap duo Bob Vylan sparked backlash for [their “Death to the IDF” chant ][1]– and the European Broadcasting Union meeting, [where members voted to include Israel ][2]in Eurovision 2026.
BBC officials have alluded to such calls in the past. When asked about lobbying from “both sides” regarding Israel’s genocidal war in September last year, [director-general Tim Davie told Labour MP Dr Rupa Huq][3] at a Culture, Media and Sport Committee oral evidence session that “I am talking to people on every angle of this conflict on a very regular basis”.
Under Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, foreign diplomats have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of the receiving state.
If the Israeli embassy made inbound calls to the BBC’s top brass, this could arguably constitute lobbying Britain’s national broadcaster – bypassing transparent press channels – and constitute an example of improper interference in a sovereign institution’s editorial independence.
If the BBC’s most senior figures made outbound calls to the Israeli embassy, that could point to a level of coordination which – during a period of intense conflict and editorial scrutiny – puts the BBC’s commitment to independent and impartial journalism at risk.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said “it isn’t surprising” that the BBC is “trying to shield itself from accountability for its shameful anti-Palestinian bias”.
Celie Hanson, PSC campaigns officer, told Novara Media: “We already know that the extent of the BBC’s pro-Israel bias has led to widespread [dissent among BBC staff ][4]who have complained of the persistent promotion of pro-Israel narratives and its failure to adhere to its own editorial standards.”
The BBC did respond to the FOI request on 9 February, after 38 days – almost double the legal time limit. But the ICO deemed its response inadequate, writing on 10 March that “by the date of this notice the public authority has not issued a substantive response to this request”. This is because the BBC claimed that although it had call logs going back to 7 April 2025, it “did not find any information of the description you have asked for (call metadata)”. No call data of any variety was shared with the applicant.
For the applicant, the BBC’s claim that records don’t exist is an “absurd notion that implies that the BBC doesn’t have access to any billing information about calls made using their 10,000+ corporate mobile lines”.
By finding the BBC in breach of the Act, the ICO appears to have agreed.
The ICO has the power to [issue enforcement notices][5] and practice recommendations to ensure that obligations under the FOIA are upheld. It is [unlawful for public bodies to fail to respond adequately][6] to a request for information, and a criminal offence to deliberately destroy, hide or alter requested information to prevent it from being released.
The BBC’s coverage of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza was [found to be systematically biased against Palestinians][7] and consistently failed to reach standards of impartiality, according to research from the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM).
The CfMM report, which analysed more than 35,000 pieces of BBC content in the year from October 2023, found that the BBC gave Israeli deaths 33 times more coverage per fatality than Palestinian deaths, that both broadcast segments and articles included clear double standards, and BBC content consistently shut down allegations of genocide.
Israel has killed a conservative estimate of 72,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, and injured over 170,000. At least 90% of the population of the Gaza Strip has been displaced, and children have borne the brunt of Israel’s violence. UNICEF estimates that [64,000 children were killed or injured by Israel ][8]in the two years since October 2023.
[1]: http://bbc.com/news/articles/c33514nryy1o
[2]: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20251205-bbc-backs-decision-to-allow-israels-participation-in-2026-eurovision-amid-controversy/
[3]: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/16413/pdf/
[4]: https://www.owenjones.news/p/bbc-staff-were-forced-to-do-pro-israel
[5]: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-66467395
[6]: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/foi/foi-complaints-and-ico-enforcement-powers/
[7]: https://novaramedia.com/2025/06/16/bbc-systematically-biased-against-palestinians-in-gaza-coverage/
[8]: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/two-years-hellish-war-have-devastated-gazas-children
https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/16/bbc-breaks-law-by-failing-to-say-if-it-made-calls-to-israeli-embassy/
The BBC has broken the law by failing to give a “substantive response” to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request asking if and when calls took place between its most senior figures and the Israeli embassy, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has found.
The ICO – the independent regulatory office that upholds information rights in the public interest – issued a decision notice on Tuesday 10 March, seen by Novara Media ahead of publication online, finding the BBC had failed to respond adequately and within the 20 working days stipulated by law.
Finding the BBC to be in breach of section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the ICO ordered the broadcaster to provide a “substantive response” to the FOI within 30 days or risk being treated as in contempt of court.
The BBC must now hand over records of any calls between the Israeli embassy – including ambassador Tzipi Hotovely – and the BBC-issued mobile phone lines of top corporation leadership. They are director-general Tim Davie, BBC board member Sir Robbie Gibb, BBC News CEO Deborah Turness and BBC chair Dr Samir Shah.
The FOI request was submitted on 6 December last year by a former civil servant, who wished to remain anonymous. He told Novara Media he was concerned by the BBC’s biased coverage of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. “If these calls exist, they represent a serious breakdown of the BBC’s Charter of Impartiality and a potential violation by the Israeli embassy of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” he said.
The applicant requested data showing when any such calls had happened, how long they lasted and whether they were inbound or outbound. From this, he hoped to see if there were any large clusters of calls around events such as Glastonbury 2025 – where punk-rap duo Bob Vylan sparked backlash for [their “Death to the IDF” chant ][1]– and the European Broadcasting Union meeting, [where members voted to include Israel ][2]in Eurovision 2026.
BBC officials have alluded to such calls in the past. When asked about lobbying from “both sides” regarding Israel’s genocidal war in September last year, [director-general Tim Davie told Labour MP Dr Rupa Huq][3] at a Culture, Media and Sport Committee oral evidence session that “I am talking to people on every angle of this conflict on a very regular basis”.
Under Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, foreign diplomats have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of the receiving state.
If the Israeli embassy made inbound calls to the BBC’s top brass, this could arguably constitute lobbying Britain’s national broadcaster – bypassing transparent press channels – and constitute an example of improper interference in a sovereign institution’s editorial independence.
If the BBC’s most senior figures made outbound calls to the Israeli embassy, that could point to a level of coordination which – during a period of intense conflict and editorial scrutiny – puts the BBC’s commitment to independent and impartial journalism at risk.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said “it isn’t surprising” that the BBC is “trying to shield itself from accountability for its shameful anti-Palestinian bias”.
Celie Hanson, PSC campaigns officer, told Novara Media: “We already know that the extent of the BBC’s pro-Israel bias has led to widespread [dissent among BBC staff ][4]who have complained of the persistent promotion of pro-Israel narratives and its failure to adhere to its own editorial standards.”
The BBC did respond to the FOI request on 9 February, after 38 days – almost double the legal time limit. But the ICO deemed its response inadequate, writing on 10 March that “by the date of this notice the public authority has not issued a substantive response to this request”. This is because the BBC claimed that although it had call logs going back to 7 April 2025, it “did not find any information of the description you have asked for (call metadata)”. No call data of any variety was shared with the applicant.
For the applicant, the BBC’s claim that records don’t exist is an “absurd notion that implies that the BBC doesn’t have access to any billing information about calls made using their 10,000+ corporate mobile lines”.
By finding the BBC in breach of the Act, the ICO appears to have agreed.
The ICO has the power to [issue enforcement notices][5] and practice recommendations to ensure that obligations under the FOIA are upheld. It is [unlawful for public bodies to fail to respond adequately][6] to a request for information, and a criminal offence to deliberately destroy, hide or alter requested information to prevent it from being released.
The BBC’s coverage of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza was [found to be systematically biased against Palestinians][7] and consistently failed to reach standards of impartiality, according to research from the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM).
The CfMM report, which analysed more than 35,000 pieces of BBC content in the year from October 2023, found that the BBC gave Israeli deaths 33 times more coverage per fatality than Palestinian deaths, that both broadcast segments and articles included clear double standards, and BBC content consistently shut down allegations of genocide.
Israel has killed a conservative estimate of 72,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, and injured over 170,000. At least 90% of the population of the Gaza Strip has been displaced, and children have borne the brunt of Israel’s violence. UNICEF estimates that [64,000 children were killed or injured by Israel ][8]in the two years since October 2023.
[1]: http://bbc.com/news/articles/c33514nryy1o
[2]: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20251205-bbc-backs-decision-to-allow-israels-participation-in-2026-eurovision-amid-controversy/
[3]: https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/16413/pdf/
[4]: https://www.owenjones.news/p/bbc-staff-were-forced-to-do-pro-israel
[5]: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-66467395
[6]: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/foi/foi-complaints-and-ico-enforcement-powers/
[7]: https://novaramedia.com/2025/06/16/bbc-systematically-biased-against-palestinians-in-gaza-coverage/
[8]: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/two-years-hellish-war-have-devastated-gazas-children
https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/16/bbc-breaks-law-by-failing-to-say-if-it-made-calls-to-israeli-embassy/
1
Corbyn Calls for UK Ministers to Be Investigated Over Gaza Genocide
[Jeremy Corbyn]
Jeremy Corbyn is recommending that UK ministers are investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in light of government complicity and participation in Israel’s genocide in Gaza detailed in the Gaza Tribunal report.
[The report,][1] released on Monday, found that the UK government has failed in every single legal obligation under treaty and international law, and has been complicit in atrocity crimes – in some instances even being an active participant.
Corbyn, the parliamentary leader of Your Party, told Novara Media: “Complicity demands consequences. In the aftermath of the Iraq war, governments escaped accountability for the role they played in catastrophic human suffering. This time, we must achieve real accountability and real justice for the Palestinian people.”
Corbyn held[ the Gaza Tribunal][2] in September last year to “uncover the full scale of British complicity in genocide” since October 2023, hearing testimony from witnesses, journalists and survivors, as well as a range of lawyers, whistleblowers and experts in international law.
Corbyn said the report, which he authored along with international law experts Dr Shahd Hammouri and Prof Neve Gordon, will “help cement the government’s legacy as a participant in one of the greatest crimes of our time”.
The report’s authors are committed to working with the ICC to “draw their attention to evidence presented in this report including violations of international law and evidence of criminal complicity implicating government ministers and officials”. They highlighted those “who have authorised the continuation of economic ties with Israel, as well as the commission of arms trades, arm transfers and intelligence exchange” as being worthy of investigation.
Recommendations from the report include that the British government should release full licensing and export data on military shipments to Israel to date, along with all legal advice on the government’s assessment of genocide and its obligations to prevent it.
The report also calls for all surveillance footage collected by [RAF spy flights over Gaza][3] to be shared with the ICC and International Court of Justice (ICJ), and for the government to cooperate with a full, independent public inquiry into cooperation between the UK and Israel since October 2023, which has the power to question ministers and officials.
Evidence collected from tribunal testimonies is sorted into four categories: the destruction of the medical system, the destruction of the education system, the targeting of journalists and the production of famine.
Two British healthcare workers gave evidence, with NHS consultant plastic surgeon Dr Victoria Rose telling the tribunal that she was “seeing children with bits of their body blown off” as part of daily operations on children.
Rose described one day of operating in May where she operated on six children including “a five-year-old girl who had had her arm blown off” and her sister, who “had had her left cheek and shoulder blown off”.
Consultant gastrointestinal surgeon Dr Nick Maynard described the total destruction of a hospital in Gaza by the IDF, saying: “They destroyed the scanning machines. They cut the cables to all the ultrasound machines. They cut the cables and destroyed all the dialysis machines… The Israeli military bombed the intensive care unit whilst I was operating in the operating theatre next door.”
The report describes Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s medical system as “deliberate, systematic and near total”, and attacks on healthcare facilities and staff [as “medicide”.][4]
It finds that the UK’s legal obligations under international law required – at minimum – the immediate suspension of arms transfers and related military exports where there is a serious risk of use in genocide, crimes against humanity or grave international humanitarian law violations; the suspension of intelligence‑sharing, training and other security cooperation that could materally assist unlawful acts; support for humanitarian relief and opposition to policies producing famine conditions; and full co‑operation with international accountability, including the ICC and the relevant UN special rapporteurs.
The British government has been found to fail in each of these five areas. It has continued to supply weapons to Israel, particularly parts of F-35 jets which are central to Israel’s genocide. Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe, a lawyer at Global Legal Action Network, told the tribunal that it has been “really quite shocking to observe how far this government is willing to create legal absurdities to defy logic… to employ every tool at its disposal in order to keep arming Israel”.
The report accuses the UK government of ignoring “blatant violations” of international humanitarian law and applying a “skewed methodology” when assessing Israeli breaches of it by only looking at specific incidents, not patterns or overall pictures, along with providing political and diplomatic cover to Israel.
Mark Smith, a British Foreign Office official who[ resigned in protest][5] over continued arms sales to Israel in August 2024, testified that although his assessment was that “it was impossible to see how the UK government was acting legally”, this was repeatedly ignored and downplayed.
Prime minister Keir Starmer’s administration also came under fire for [actively “undermining” the ICC’s issuing of arrest warrants][6] for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant by questioning its jurisdiction withholding support for the warrants and failing to facilitate investigations, according to testimony from Tayab Ali, director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians.
The role of British bases in facilitating the transport, refuelling and maintenance of Israeli military equipment, and of the Royal Air Force in conducting spy flights over Gaza from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was also cited as evidence of the UK’s active participation in the genocide.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians in Gaza, of whom at least 20,000 are children. This is likely to be a severe undercount, and does not account for bodies still trapped under rubble.
[1]: https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/139/185/original/the-gaza-tribunal-report.pdf
[2]: https://thegazatribunal.uk/%5C
[3]: https://www.declassifieduk.org/britain-sent-over-500-spy-flights-to-gaza/
[4]: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/un-experts-appalled-relentless-israeli-attacks-gazas-healthcare-system
[5]: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/09/uk-foreign-office-war-crimes-arms-gaza-yemen
[6]: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2025/dec/11/britain-icc-funding-netanyahu-arrest-warrant
https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/16/corbyn-calls-for-uk-ministers-to-be-investigated-over-gaza-genocide/
[Jeremy Corbyn]
Jeremy Corbyn is recommending that UK ministers are investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in light of government complicity and participation in Israel’s genocide in Gaza detailed in the Gaza Tribunal report.
[The report,][1] released on Monday, found that the UK government has failed in every single legal obligation under treaty and international law, and has been complicit in atrocity crimes – in some instances even being an active participant.
Corbyn, the parliamentary leader of Your Party, told Novara Media: “Complicity demands consequences. In the aftermath of the Iraq war, governments escaped accountability for the role they played in catastrophic human suffering. This time, we must achieve real accountability and real justice for the Palestinian people.”
Corbyn held[ the Gaza Tribunal][2] in September last year to “uncover the full scale of British complicity in genocide” since October 2023, hearing testimony from witnesses, journalists and survivors, as well as a range of lawyers, whistleblowers and experts in international law.
Corbyn said the report, which he authored along with international law experts Dr Shahd Hammouri and Prof Neve Gordon, will “help cement the government’s legacy as a participant in one of the greatest crimes of our time”.
The report’s authors are committed to working with the ICC to “draw their attention to evidence presented in this report including violations of international law and evidence of criminal complicity implicating government ministers and officials”. They highlighted those “who have authorised the continuation of economic ties with Israel, as well as the commission of arms trades, arm transfers and intelligence exchange” as being worthy of investigation.
Recommendations from the report include that the British government should release full licensing and export data on military shipments to Israel to date, along with all legal advice on the government’s assessment of genocide and its obligations to prevent it.
The report also calls for all surveillance footage collected by [RAF spy flights over Gaza][3] to be shared with the ICC and International Court of Justice (ICJ), and for the government to cooperate with a full, independent public inquiry into cooperation between the UK and Israel since October 2023, which has the power to question ministers and officials.
Evidence collected from tribunal testimonies is sorted into four categories: the destruction of the medical system, the destruction of the education system, the targeting of journalists and the production of famine.
Two British healthcare workers gave evidence, with NHS consultant plastic surgeon Dr Victoria Rose telling the tribunal that she was “seeing children with bits of their body blown off” as part of daily operations on children.
Rose described one day of operating in May where she operated on six children including “a five-year-old girl who had had her arm blown off” and her sister, who “had had her left cheek and shoulder blown off”.
Consultant gastrointestinal surgeon Dr Nick Maynard described the total destruction of a hospital in Gaza by the IDF, saying: “They destroyed the scanning machines. They cut the cables to all the ultrasound machines. They cut the cables and destroyed all the dialysis machines… The Israeli military bombed the intensive care unit whilst I was operating in the operating theatre next door.”
The report describes Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s medical system as “deliberate, systematic and near total”, and attacks on healthcare facilities and staff [as “medicide”.][4]
It finds that the UK’s legal obligations under international law required – at minimum – the immediate suspension of arms transfers and related military exports where there is a serious risk of use in genocide, crimes against humanity or grave international humanitarian law violations; the suspension of intelligence‑sharing, training and other security cooperation that could materally assist unlawful acts; support for humanitarian relief and opposition to policies producing famine conditions; and full co‑operation with international accountability, including the ICC and the relevant UN special rapporteurs.
The British government has been found to fail in each of these five areas. It has continued to supply weapons to Israel, particularly parts of F-35 jets which are central to Israel’s genocide. Charlotte Andrews-Briscoe, a lawyer at Global Legal Action Network, told the tribunal that it has been “really quite shocking to observe how far this government is willing to create legal absurdities to defy logic… to employ every tool at its disposal in order to keep arming Israel”.
The report accuses the UK government of ignoring “blatant violations” of international humanitarian law and applying a “skewed methodology” when assessing Israeli breaches of it by only looking at specific incidents, not patterns or overall pictures, along with providing political and diplomatic cover to Israel.
Mark Smith, a British Foreign Office official who[ resigned in protest][5] over continued arms sales to Israel in August 2024, testified that although his assessment was that “it was impossible to see how the UK government was acting legally”, this was repeatedly ignored and downplayed.
Prime minister Keir Starmer’s administration also came under fire for [actively “undermining” the ICC’s issuing of arrest warrants][6] for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant by questioning its jurisdiction withholding support for the warrants and failing to facilitate investigations, according to testimony from Tayab Ali, director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians.
The role of British bases in facilitating the transport, refuelling and maintenance of Israeli military equipment, and of the Royal Air Force in conducting spy flights over Gaza from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was also cited as evidence of the UK’s active participation in the genocide.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians in Gaza, of whom at least 20,000 are children. This is likely to be a severe undercount, and does not account for bodies still trapped under rubble.
[1]: https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/139/185/original/the-gaza-tribunal-report.pdf
[2]: https://thegazatribunal.uk/%5C
[3]: https://www.declassifieduk.org/britain-sent-over-500-spy-flights-to-gaza/
[4]: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/un-experts-appalled-relentless-israeli-attacks-gazas-healthcare-system
[5]: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/09/uk-foreign-office-war-crimes-arms-gaza-yemen
[6]: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2025/dec/11/britain-icc-funding-netanyahu-arrest-warrant
https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/16/corbyn-calls-for-uk-ministers-to-be-investigated-over-gaza-genocide/
1
Telegraph Publishes Honest Report on Iran War, Then Waters It Down
The Telegraph published a story detailing the devastation caused by US-Israeli attacks on civilian targets across Iran, but made substantial edits after a post on X expressing surprise at the directness of the reporting was shared thousands of times.
The original introduction to the article read: “American and Israeli aircraft bombed hospitals, residential buildings and schools across Tehran on Tuesday in what residents described as ‘an apocalypse’.”
But the paper rewrote the introduction after journalist Owen Jones quoted the article in a[ post on X][1], pointing out that it was unusual for a “rightwing, pro-war” outlet to cover US and Israeli aggression in this way.
The[ newly edited article][2] begins: “Bombs have struck hospitals, schools and residential buildings in some of the heaviest strikes on Tehran since the war began.”
Another paragraph in the original article said: “Millions of civilians are trapped under relentless bombardment as food and medical supplies dwindle and the death toll mounts.”
The new version of this sentence does not reference civilians and has been moved lower down the article. It reads: “Millions remain trapped in Tehran, a city under sustained aerial assault.”
The Telegraph’s decision to name the US and Israel so directly as the perpetrators of attacks against civilians set it apart from many mainstream outlets, which have been accused of repeatedly obscuring the role of the two countries in committing atrocities in Gaza.
“Wow. This is the rightwing, pro-war Daily Telegraph,” Jones wrote on X, before quoting from the original opening paragraph.
The Telegraph did not respond to Novara Media’s questions about why the article had been edited and has not flagged the changes to readers on its website.
[1]: https://x.com/owenjonesjourno/status/2028941560939770196
[2]: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/03/apocalypse-tehran-heaviest-day-strikes-war/
https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/09/telegraph-publishes-honest-report-on-iran-war-then-waters-it-down/
The Telegraph published a story detailing the devastation caused by US-Israeli attacks on civilian targets across Iran, but made substantial edits after a post on X expressing surprise at the directness of the reporting was shared thousands of times.
The original introduction to the article read: “American and Israeli aircraft bombed hospitals, residential buildings and schools across Tehran on Tuesday in what residents described as ‘an apocalypse’.”
But the paper rewrote the introduction after journalist Owen Jones quoted the article in a[ post on X][1], pointing out that it was unusual for a “rightwing, pro-war” outlet to cover US and Israeli aggression in this way.
The[ newly edited article][2] begins: “Bombs have struck hospitals, schools and residential buildings in some of the heaviest strikes on Tehran since the war began.”
Another paragraph in the original article said: “Millions of civilians are trapped under relentless bombardment as food and medical supplies dwindle and the death toll mounts.”
The new version of this sentence does not reference civilians and has been moved lower down the article. It reads: “Millions remain trapped in Tehran, a city under sustained aerial assault.”
The Telegraph’s decision to name the US and Israel so directly as the perpetrators of attacks against civilians set it apart from many mainstream outlets, which have been accused of repeatedly obscuring the role of the two countries in committing atrocities in Gaza.
“Wow. This is the rightwing, pro-war Daily Telegraph,” Jones wrote on X, before quoting from the original opening paragraph.
The Telegraph did not respond to Novara Media’s questions about why the article had been edited and has not flagged the changes to readers on its website.
[1]: https://x.com/owenjonesjourno/status/2028941560939770196
[2]: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/03/apocalypse-tehran-heaviest-day-strikes-war/
https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/09/telegraph-publishes-honest-report-on-iran-war-then-waters-it-down/
1
