Here is what I found from a US House joint hearing on February 16, 2005:
"At the time of al-Manar's founding in 1991, the station reportedly received seed money from Iran and had a running budget of $1 million. By 2002 its annual budget had grown to approximately $15 million. Middle East analysts and journalists maintain that most of this funding comes from Iran. Avi Jorisch, author of Beacon of Hatred: Inside Hezbollah's al-Manar Television, writes that "Iran provides an estimated $100-200 million per year to Hezbollah, which in turn transfers money to al-Manar, making Iranian funding of the station indirect." This was confirmed by former al-Manar program director Sheikh Nasir al-Akhdar who asserted that al-Manar receives a large portion of its budget through subsidies offered by Hezbollah."
Testimony of Matthew A. Levitt, Senior Fellow and Director of Terrorism Studies
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
February 16, 2005
Joint Hearing of the Committee on International Relations
Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia, and the
Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation
United States House of Representatives
http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/109/Lev021605.pdf
And here are the sources cited in the report.
Jorisch interview with Lebanese Hezbollah expert, October 11, 2002 in Avi Jorisch, Beacon of Hatred: Inside Hezbollah's al-Manar Television (Washington, DC: Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2004), Page 32.
Nicholas Blanford, "Hezbullah Sharpens Its Weapons in Propoganda War," Christian Science Monitor, December 28, 2001
Robert Fisk, "Television News Is Secret Weapon of the Intifada," The Independent (London), December 2, 2000
Ali Nuri Zada, "Iran Raises Budget of 'Islamic Jihad' and Appropriates Funds to Fighters," al-Sharq al-Awsat (London), June 8, 2000
"Hizbollah Inaugurates Satellite Channel via ArabSat," al-Ra'y (Amman), May 29, 2000, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, May 31, 2000
Let me know if you need additional sources. Good luck, Michele
