frequently sent telegrams to the BBC about Persian Service reporting. The Iranian Ambassador in London, Parviz Radji, tried to tone down these complaints recognising the BBC was acting independently, but had many meetings with the top management of the BBC in the late 1970s, including the Director-General Ian Trethowan. In the year before the revolution the Persian Service interviewed the major contenders: one with Ayatollah Khomeini, three or four with Prime Minister Shapur Bakhtiar and two with Karim Sanjabi, leader of the National Front who were seeking a peaceful democratic transition from the Shah's rule. During the revolution Iranian media was heavily censored, resulting in long strikes by journalists, and the BBC Persian Service gained an even larger country-wide audience. After the 1979 revolution In 1980 the BBC correspondent in Iran was expelled and the BBC office in Tehran closed. For 19 years the BBC covered Iran from London with occasional short visits to Iran by correspondents. However, after the 1999 election of President Mohammad Khatami the BBC was able to re-open a Tehran office with a resident correspondent. As of 2000, BBC Persian Service output was about 28 hours per week, with a mixture of news, education and entertainment programmes. Internet BBC Persian has had a web presence since May 2001. Television In 2008, the BBC announced the launch of the BBC Persian Television. It was launched in January 2009 and is based in BBC Broadcasting House, London. It complements the BBC's existing Persian-language radio and online services. It was initially broadcast for eight hours a day, seven days a week, from 17.00 to 01.00 hours – peak viewing time in Iran. It is freely available to anyone with a satellite dish in the region. BBC proposals for the service were drawn up by senior BBC management. These were approved by the then BBC Governors – the body that oversaw the BBC and ensures the BBC's independence from the UK Government. They were then submitted to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for their consent as the BBC is obliged to do under the agreement with the FCO. The operating cost of £15m a year will be funded by the UK Government. Funding for the new service was announced by then UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown in a speech in October 2006. The funding was confirmed by the next Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling in October