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{"text":[[{"start":10.5,"text":"A long-delayed Saudi TV series about diplomats from the country who were held hostage in Tehran is being revived as ties between the two countries break down in the face of the US-Israeli war on Iran."}],[{"start":25.05,"text":"The series Embassy 87 is inspired by real events that followed the deaths of hundreds of people in clashes between Iranian pilgrims and Saudi police during the Hajj pilgrimage in 1987."}],[{"start":41.19,"text":"In response, Iranian protesters attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran and several diplomats were held for 24 hours by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."}],[{"start":52.32,"text":"The series was originally shot more than four years ago, before Saudi Arabia and Iran signed a Chinese-brokered agreement in March 2023 to resume diplomatic relations, said three people familiar with the situation. One said it was shelved in light of the détente."}],[{"start":71.47,"text":"But as Iran responded to the US-Israeli attack last month by launching missiles and drones into the Gulf, Saudi broadcaster MBC Group released a trailer on March 3 announcing the series would soon come to its streaming platform Shahid, which competes with Netflix and Disney in the Middle East."}],[{"start":93.75,"text":"“Not all wars are fought on the battlefield” is the tagline with the trailer showing panicked Saudi embassy staff rushing to the basement as protesters climb metal gates to break into the building."}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":106.99,"text":"The show is directed by Colin Teague, a UK filmmaker who has previously worked on Dr Who. "}],[{"start":114.49,"text":"It is unclear whether a final decision has been made to air Embassy 87. MBC initially announced that the first episode of the series would be released Friday, but a label on the show’s listing now only says “soon”."}],[{"start":129.72,"text":"Saudi Arabia has publicly opposed the war, with the kingdom’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman telling Iran’s president he would not allow the use of Saudi territory or airspace to attack the Islamic republic. But the kingdom has still been targeted by Iranian missiles and drones that have hit a US base and refineries inside the territory."}],[{"start":153.1,"text":"Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and Shia-led Iran have long been arch-rivals competing for power and influence in the Middle East. While relations improved after the Beijing accord, Saudi anger has mounted in recent weeks after Iranian attacks on the kingdom."}],[{"start":170.78,"text":"“What little trust there was before has completely been shattered,” Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said last month."}],[{"start":179.98,"text":"Reda al-Nuzha, former Saudi consul general in Tehran, confirmed on social media site X that Embassy 87 is based on events in which he played a central role. "}],[{"start":192.57,"text":"“With all humility, I say that I am that consul who was subjected to torture, kidnapping, arrest and imprisonment when I was Saudi Arabia’s consul in Iran in 1987,” he posted on X on Monday."}],[{"start":208.56,"text":"Founded in London in 1991 as the Arab world’s first private satellite channel, MBC was brought under government control in 2017 after its founder was among hundreds of royals, businessmen and former officials detained at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh as part of an anti-corruption crackdown."}],[{"start":233.61,"text":"The Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s nearly $1tn sovereign wealth fund, took over the government’s stake in MBC last year in a private transaction worth around $2bn."}],[{"start":246.8,"text":"Despite strong ties to the government, MBC has sparked controversy over the years with content tackling topics including homosexuality, religion and contentious Arab history. A multimillion-dollar production portraying the life of an early Islamic ruler was last year banned by Iraq and Iran, with some clerics denouncing it as sinful."}],[{"start":270.13,"text":"Mazen Hayek, a former MBC executive, said that the ongoing war makes Embassy 87 “very compelling and relevant” as Gulf audiences follow a war in which their countries are squeezed between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other."}],[{"start":288.62,"text":"“MBC is also caught in the middle. On one hand, pushing the envelope creatively is about survival in the face of competition from the likes of Netflix and Disney,” said Hayek, who now works as a Dubai-based media consultant. “On the other hand, you have other social and geopolitical considerations to take care of.”"}],[{"start":309.86,"text":"MBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "}],[{"start":316.05,"text":"In 2023, the group removed a series about the 1988 hijacking of a Kuwait Airways flight by Lebanese guerrillas from its streaming service after protests from the Kuwaiti government."}],[{"start":339.82,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1775242211_5713.mp3"}