London, Dec. 21 : The BBC has claimed that its Persian television signal was being jammed following the airing stories on the death of Iran''s top dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri.

The corporation said its service for Persian speakers began facing persistent interference on Sunday, affecting the Hotbird 6 satellite, which carries the BBC''s international television and radio services in various languages.

"The fact that someone would go to these lengths to jam BBC Persian television''s signal is indicative of the impact we make in Iran," The News quoted BBC World Service director Peter Horrocks, as saying.

"The Iranian people want to know the truth about what is happening in their country, and they know they will get impartial and independent news from the BBC. We''ll do everything we can to give them that news," he added.

Montazeri, 87, a fierce critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, died of an illness on Saturday night.

BBC has been facing such signal interferences in past in Iran.

In June, the broadcaster said the satellites it uses to broadcast in Persian were being jammed from Iran, disrupting its reports on the hotly-disputed presidential election.

The BBC said it was investigating ways to increase the options for its Persian-speaking audiences in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, which could include broadcasting on other satellites. (ANI)