Reference CAS-8130880-D8Y3R8 Panorama: Trump, Israel and the War on Iran

Dear BBC Complaints

The point is that whether the war is illegal is not a matter of legal debate.  It is not the "view of Seyed Ali Mousavi, the Iranian Ambassador to the UK".  It is International Law.  The UN Charter clearly states "Should the parties to a dispute of the nature referred to in Article 33 fail to settle it by the means indicated in that Article, they shall refer it to the Security Council."  Israel has failed to do this.  Their representatives are simply allowed to lie directly into the lens and since they are never challenged on the legality of their actions they do not have to defend them logically.  Neither have you responded to my questions as to why Israel's invasion of Syria which is simultaneous to these events is not commented on at all in what claims to be a balanced geopolitical analysis.  The BBC website has a War in Ukraine tab and a war in Gaza tab but Israel's war in Syria (ongoing since 8 December 2024) is assiduously concealed from the public.

Yours sincerely

Anthony Miller

Reference CAS-8130880-D8Y3R8

Dear Mr Miller,

Thank you for getting in touch with us about Panorama: Trump, Israel and the War on Iran.

I understand that you feel this programme is biased in favour of Israel.

Reviewing the broadcast, a number of contributors were featured to provide a broad spectrum of perspectives on the conflict. As you have noted this included Israeli Politicians Ohad Tal and Tzipura Hotovely. Seyed Ali Mousavi, the Iranian Ambassador to the UK was also featured, and explained his view that there is no doubt that the US strikes were in violation of the United Nations Charter.

By reporting on claims made by any of our contributors, the BBC is in no way endorsing them. All of these claims are the personal views of the contributors themselves, and not representative of the BBC.

In all our news coverage we are committed to reporting fairly, accurately and with due impartiality. We are editorially independent and not subject to political influence or agenda.

When reporting on a political news story, we present the facts and explore arguments from across the political spectrum so our audience has the information it needs to form its own view. BBC News never takes a position on any story.

We have noted that you feel this broadcast was biased and your feedback has been shared with the relevant teams at the BBC.

We very much value your feedback. Complaints are sent to senior management and we’ve included your points in our overnight reports. These reports are among the most widely read sources of feedback in the BBC. This ensures that your concerns have been seen by the right people quickly, and helps to inform decisions about current and future content.

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Kind regards,

BBC Complaints Team 

www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

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