The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat) has taken a number of Iranian channels off the air in Europe based on an order by the United States.The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has ordered the international broadcast services provider to shut down the Iranian channels, including Sahar, Jam-e-Jam, Islamic Republic of Iran News Network and al-Kowsar. Press TV was not included in the list of the channels that have been removed. European satellite provider Eutelsat also took Iranian channels off the air last week, saying that the decision was made by the European Union.However, the EU later told Press TV that Eutelsat had taken the decision on its own. Press TV has learned that Israeli lobbies have stepped up their pressure on international satellite companies to ban Iranian channels.