Channel 4 News Will be Producing a Series of Live Programmes from Iran

Channel 4 News:

Jon Snow and team given unprecedented access to broadcast Channel 4 News from Iran. In the week when the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme is likely to come to a head, Channel 4 News has been allowed into the country to anchor a week of live broadcasts.

Presenter Jon Snow, named as TV Journalist of the Year by the Royal Television Society last week, heads a team of a dozen journalists, cameramen and technicians, which will be producing a series of live programmes from Iran beginning on Monday 6 March. READ MORE

On the same day, the International Atomic Energy Authority meets in Vienna to make its assessment of Iran's nuclear ambitions. It will consider whether to refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions, which could lead to a serious deterioration in relations with the Iranian government.

No international news broadcaster has been granted such access to Iran, and the Channel 4 News team intend to use this opportunity to offer a unique insight into the country, its rulers and its people.

Editor Jim Gray said: "We've worked hard with the Iranian government over many months to make this possible. The result will, I believe, offer viewers and our website-users an unprecedented sight of this complex country at precisely the moment it takes centre-stage in world politics."

Jon Snow will be anchoring from a number of different locations, including the capital Tehran. The Channel 4 News technical team will be assisted by the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, and draw on the experience gained presenting News from Africa (2005), News from Iraq (2003), and News from India (2002).

Jon Snow said: "I am so excited about going back. I have only been to Iran once since I left in 1981. It's a fantastic country, vibrant, huge population, rich in mineral resources with amazing potential - yet if the relationship with Iran can be got to work then all sorts of things fall into place. If it doesn't, the consequences will be felt across the Middle East " .

Jon Snow will be joined by Channel 4 News's International Editor, Lindsey Hilsum, and Science Correspondent Julian Rush, in compiling nightly location reports.

A series of films has been commissioned, with independent Iranian film-makers and journalists playing a significant role in opening up aspects of the country not seen on British television before. These will examine how the world looks through Iranian eyes, exposing some of the myths perpetrated about Iran, and offering reports on politics, identity, youth, industry, technology, culture and power. Crucially, the programme will look at the danger of war, exploring and challenging Iranian perspectives on the nuclear dispute.

More 4 News, sister programme to Channel 4 News, which is broadcast at 8pm on More 4, will offers its own distinctive contributions to in the coverage.

For the first time, Jon Snow will podcasting from Iran, giving a daily insight into the challenges of reporting from the country. He'll also be writing his daily Snowmail, which goes out to nearly 30,000 subscribers each day.

The Channel 4 News website will offer a video archive of reports from Iran, including an opportunity to catch-up on all the week's programming, as well as featuring blogs from the Channel 4 News team and from Iranian. Farsi is the fourth most common language amongst bloggers and the net provides a different kind of connection with Iranians, in and out of their country.