Observations on Voice of Mojahed
January 30, 2004
The website http://www.iran.mojahedin.org (hosted in the U.S., registered under a French address) is primarily the site of the "People's Mojahedin of Iran" organisation, but contains a.o. a link to the live Webstream for the station which is located at a commercial webcast provider in Ireland: http://www.servecast.com/wmwebcasts/seda/play450-seda.asx
On the TELSTAR 12 satellite the station is on the same downlink transponder as the
Farsi-language TV station "Iran NTV" which is based in the London, UK (its webstream is hosted by the same Irish webcast provider). Sharing a transponder often means that the stations are uplinked through the same facility (it doesn't necessarily need to be owned by the stations themselves). Uplink and webstream indicate "commercial equipment" and good telecommunications infrastructure and it appears likely that Voice of Mojahed is produced in either in a European country (like the UK), or in the U.S. (many wellknown U.S.-based broadcasters targeting Iran are using TELSTAR, like Sedaye Iran, Payam-e Doost, BBG's Radio Farda);the TELSTAR signal is then picked up by the transmitters in the Middle East (seemingly located in Iraq) where it is rebroadcast.
The "sporadic" activity of these transmitters might originate in a number of reasons: unavailability of the satellite feed (Voice of Mojahed has been off the satellite a number of times in recent months, also possible are local satellite reception problems) and lack of electricity supply for the satellite receiver and transmitters (a common situation in post-war Iraq).
(B.Trutenau-LTU Jan 30, 2004 in DXLD 4-018)
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