In a statement released on Thursday, IRIB chief Peyman Jebelli said the killing of Zaidan in what he described as “the criminal aggression of the Zionists against Sidon” once again exposed “the ugly face and evil nature” of Israel, News.Az reports, citing Iran’s English-language Press TV.
Jebelli described Zaidan as “a courageous warrior of the news field and determined journalist of the resistance media”, and said Israel was deliberately targeting journalists who expose alleged crimes committed by Israeli forces across the region.
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“The Zionist regime’s insistence on the targeted assassination of journalists is a sign of the desperate fear of this symbol of darkness from the light of truth,” he said.
He added that “the martyrdom of Zaidan and other pioneers of honour and high human dignity is not the end, but the beginning of the triumph of resistance”.
Jebelli also extended condolences to Zaidan’s family, the regional media community, and “all truth-seeking journalists”.
In a separate statement, IRIB World Service chief Ahmad Noroozi said the killing of Zaidan in an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese city of Sidon once again demonstrated what he called Israel’s “criminal nature”.
The statement accused Israel of having “no respect for the lives of civilians and media personnel” and of directly targeting journalists.
Noroozi described Zaidan as “a noble and professional journalist” who spent years reporting from conflict zones and covering regional developments.
According to the statement, Zaidan served as a correspondent for al-Alam TV in Syria from 2009, covering events in Aleppo, Hama and Deir Ezzor during some of the most intense periods of the Syrian conflict.
“He was among the journalists who carried out his professional mission not from behind the news desk, but from the front lines and the heart of the field,” the statement said.
Following developments in Syria, Zaidan later worked as a news editor for al-Alam TV in Tehran.
“He remained steadfast in raising awareness and defending the truth until the last moments of his life,” the statement added.
IRIB’s World Service also offered condolences to Zaidan’s family, colleagues, and the people of Lebanon and Syria.
