Al Jazeera builds secret backup studio amid fears – Business News
The Iran conflict has put Al Jazeera on high alert — building a secret backup studio amid fears of a potential Israeli cyberattack on its swanky multimillion-dollar headquarters in Doha, Qatar, The Post can completely reveal.
Following the Feb. 28 begin of the battle, the state broadcaster — long accused of being a “Hamas mouthpiece” by Israeli leaders — set up the ability at a secret location inside the capital metropolis so it might keep operating within the occasion its HQ will get knocked out, in line with three insiders.
Executives have additionally drafted a detailed blueprint to shift wall-to-wall protection of the Iran conflict to backup operations in London and Washington if an assault cripples broadcasts in Al Jazeera’s home nation, the people briefed on the matter mentioned.
Ex-CNN anchor Adrian Finighan is one of Al Jazeera English’s most important stars primarily based out of the multi-million-dollar headquarters in Doha. Getty Images
Senior producers have rehearsed handoffs and need to pre-positioned workers in case Doha goes darkish, whereas the secret backup studio would have the ability to perform “very basic” broadcast operations with on-site coaching now being rolled out for workers primarily based in Qatar.
Ibrahim Helal, director of information at Al Jazeera English, cited threats from Israel in a city corridor assembly with staffers final week, which the outlet believes might even embrace an all-out airstrike, two sources mentioned.
They added that the risk of an Iranian projectile punching by way of Qatar’s air protection system has not been ruled out because the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues in its fifth week.
“Some people are really panicking and asking to work from home. Bosses are mainly worried about cyberattacks from the Israelis, but the missile threat isn’t deemed to be zero,” mentioned one of the sources.
Al Jazeera mentioned Israel killed seven of its reporters in Gaza in September 2025. The Israel Defense Forces alleged they have been linked to Hamas, a charge the community denied. NurPhoto by way of Getty Images
“Scared” staffers additionally described how the partitions shake on the Al Jazeera advanced when the Gulf State’s US-made Patriots knock missiles out of the sky.
“Doha is such a tiny city. We can feel and hear the studio shake whenever there is an interception overhead,” mentioned a journalist who spoke on situation of anonymity. “But when blasts are happening, people just keep working.”
The Post has sought remark from Al Jazeera, the Israel Defense Forces and Mossad.
Iran has launched strikes on Qatar since Operation Epic Fury started, seemingly as retaliation for US-Israeli assaults on its power infrastructure. REUTERS
Iran — not Israel — has launched strikes on its former regional ally Qatar because the conflict erupted, in line with reviews.
In mid-March, Iranian missiles obliterated sections of Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial website — the world’s largest LNG hub and the crown jewel of the Gulf nation’s economic system — in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Iran’s own gasoline fields.
The IDF has additionally struck Qatari soil up to now, attacking a residential Doha compound in September 2025 that killed six Hamas operatives whereas failing to remove the Oct. 7, 2023 terror group’s prime management.
In 2024, the IDF accused six Al Jazeera journalists of being operatives for Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror teams, a charge that Al Jazeera strongly denied.
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the previous Emir of Qatar who based Al Jazeera in 1996, constructed up an alliance with Iran’s now-dead Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. AFP by way of Getty Images
Al Jazeera’s secret security preparations come after Iranian state media briefly posted what seemed to be a direct risk in Arabic to hammer the outlet’s most important workplaces in Doha.
The chilling message was deleted within hours, however not earlier than it rattled executives and the rank-and-file on the community, which incorporates ex-CNN anchor Adrian Finighan and onetime BBC star Darren Jordon on its roster.
The alarming post, which surfaced in a single day on March 21, warned Al Jazeera journalists they have been now “legitimate targets.”
It even included a map pinpointing the community’s headquarters in Qatar.
Insiders overheard one panicked producer exclaiming loudly that Saturday evening because the alleged Iranian risk unfold throughout social media: “Don’t bomb us, we’re on your side!”
Iranian state media briefly posted what seemed to be a direct risk in Arabic to hammer Al-Jazeera’s swanky most important workplaces in Doha. IRGC
“To the citizens and residents of Doha,” the message learn, “In light of the use of this area for the deployment of American forces and interests, as well as incitement through the media against the Iranian people, this area has become a legitimate target. We ask everyone to leave this area as soon as possible.”
The post additionally appeared to reference the sprawling US air base at Al Udeid — a central nerve heart for any US air operations that Iran reportedly struck.
Government mouthpiece retailers in Tehran later claimed later claimed that the message was a hoax, branding it as “a blatant lie.”
Al Jazeera English, which launched in 2006, spent closely to draw journalistic heavyweights equivalent to Sir David Frost, the ex-BBC interviewer who famously grilled President Richard Nixon. Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera has been accused for years of carrying water for Hamas, the Iranian regime and its proxies, together with the Muslim Brotherhood, giving these enemies of the US and its allies sympathetic airtime whereas downplaying their atrocities.
In February, the Washington Free Beacon obtained a leaked copy of Al Jazeera’s fashion information that has a blanket ban on calling the Islamic State a terrorist group. The phrase “Islamist” was additionally reportedly verboten.
Al Jazeera’s gleaming glass-and-steel Doha HQ has long been a image of Qatar’s world clout. It additionally homes its former sister company, beIN Sports, a world sports activities broadcaster.
A debate has damaged out inside the newsroom about what to do with the rising numbers of stray cats dwelling on the Al Jazeera Doha ‘campus.’ AFP by way of Getty Images
Aside from more urgent worries about security, The Post has additionally discovered that the newsroom is break up down the center over what to do concerning the massive numbers of stray cats presently shacked up on what the community refers to as its “campus.”
Its Arabic-language channel was based in 1996 with a $150 million investment from the then-Emir of Qatar, earlier than Doha launched Al Jazeera English in 2006 to rival CNN and the BBC.
The Qatari outlet opened its examine e book to poach some well-known faces on the time, together with the late British journalist and Richard Nixon interviewer, Sir David Frost.
