"In presenting only Israel’s view of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and in not questioning the legality of Israel’s actions, the segment legitimizes Israel’s and the U.S. 's escalatory military action against Iran, without criticism. The segment would have benefited from expert analysis and more balanced, factual reporting, as laid out in a recent CJPME fact sheet."
June 25, 2025
To the CityNews Vancouver Television editorial team,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express concerns regarding a news segment aired today, on Wednesday June 25, 2025 at 5:15 AM on City Vancouver (CKVU).
Firstly, at 5:18 AM, the segment states “Israel originally launched strikes against Iran because they believed their rival neighbour was developing nuclear weapons in secret, a claim that Iran has repeatedly denied”, without mentioning that there is no concrete evidence, including from U.S. and UN sources, that Iran was developing nuclear weapons.
U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran is years away from developing a nuclear weapon. In March 2025, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence testified before Congress “that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.” Not only were U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations actively underway at the time of Israel’s initial strikes, with Iran and the United States floating potential models for multinational enrichment, to be overseen by IAEA inspectors and with participation from regional partners like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also been actively engaged with Iran in monitoring of its nuclear programme. Although the IAEA reported in May 2025, “that Iran is the only non-nuclear-weapon State in the world that is producing and accumulating uranium enriched to 60 per cent remains a matter of serious concern”, that report did not confirm the existence of an ongoing, undeclared nuclear weapons program in Iran.
Secondly, the entire segment makes no reference to expert analysis, including by the UN, that Israel’s attacks violated international law. Given the lack of evidence of an imminent attack by Iran, these experts argue that Israel’s use of force violated Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations. Further, the IAEA has clearly stated that “any armed attack on and threat against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes constitutes a violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter, international law and the Statute of the Agency.”
In presenting only Israel’s view of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and in not questioning the legality of Israel’s actions, the segment legitimizes Israel’s and the U.S. 's escalatory military action against Iran, without criticism. The segment would have benefited from expert analysis and more balanced, factual reporting, as laid out in a recent CJPME fact sheet.
In future coverage, I kindly urge your newsroom to provide accurate, fair and balanced coverage, in accordance with CBC’s journalistic standards and practices.
Sincerely,
Alison Jenkins