WANA (Dec 17) – A Jewish weekly publication has issued an apology to an Iranian student residing in the United Kingdom, retracting allegations it had published over the past two years.

 

In its latest issue, the Jewish Chronicle, a London-based weekly published under the auspices of the UK Jewish community, acknowledged that claims made against Mohammad Hossein Ataee, an Iranian student in the UK, were inaccurate. The publication has removed the disputed content from its platforms.

 

In an official statement, the Jewish Chronicle said it had previously published articles describing conferences organized by Ataee as being focused on dual-use technologies allegedly of interest to Iran’s armed forces, and claimed that he had cooperated with Iran’s military institutions.

 

The statement added that these allegations were incorrect, clarifying that the conferences were in fact organized to provide a platform for presentations and networking opportunities for Iranian students studying abroad and international academics, and were conducted by students for students. The publication formally apologized to Ataee.

 

Observers note that, given the legal consequences of publishing false allegations under UK law, the apology may have been issued in response to potential legal liabilities.

Jewish Chronicle