The BBC has been accused of mistranslating remarks by Pete Hegseth about the conflict with Iran, after a speech was altered in a way that suggested the United States was targeting the Iranian “people”. BBC Persian, which broadcasts to audiences inside Iran, translated comments by the US defence secretary as saying Washington was bringing death to the Iranian “people”.However, Mr Hegseth had in fact referred to the Iranian “regime” as the target.The error was quickly highlighted by pro-Israel media campaigners, who argued it raised questions about the BBC’s impartiality. The translation also sparked criticism and debate across social media.
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The dispute threatens to place the BBC on another collision course with Donald Trump, who last year launched a $10bn (£7.5bn) lawsuit against the broadcaster after The Telegraph revealed a speech of his had been edited in a way that appeared to suggest he was encouraging the Capitol Hill riot.Mr Trump has repeatedly defended the ongoing conflict in the Middle East by arguing that Iran’s leadership – rather than its citizens – poses a direct threat to US national security, pointing to years of chants of “death to America” from Tehran’s rulers.However, when the BBC aired Mr Hegseth’s address from the Pentagon live on Monday, BBC Persian translated the word “regime” as “mardom”, the Persian term for “people”. The broadcaster later issued a correction.The translation quickly sparked criticism online from some Iranians, who accused the BBC of blurring the distinction between ordinary citizens and the country’s ruling authorities and of altering the meaning of Mr Hegseth’s remarks. Others defended the wording, arguing the translation was acceptable.The US president has also previously urged Iranians to rise up against their leaders. On Monday, Mr Hegseth echoed that sentiment, encouraging civilians to “take advantage of this incredible opportunity”.In the speech, Mr Hegseth said: “It turns out the regime that chanted ‘death to America and death to Israel’ was gifted death from America and death from Israel. This is not a so-called regime-change war, but the regime sure did change and the world is better off for it.”In the Persian translation broadcast by the BBC, however, the line was rendered as: “It turns out the people that chanted ‘death to America and death to Israel’ was gifted death from America and death from Israel.”A BBC spokesman said: “This mistranslated word was a mistake, as a result of human error, during the live simultaneous translation of a speech. We issued a correction to Persian audiences on air and on social media.”LATEST DEVELOPMENTSIan Huntley hours from death as child killer’s life support machine SHUT OFF after prison attackProtesters burn Israeli flag at pro-Ayatollah vigil in Birmingham while chanting ‘death to the IDF’Iran has been both professionally and personally challenging. This is my verdict so far – Bev Turner
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