VOA Farsi online - Television live

VOA Farsi Live Stream

VOA Farsi is the Persian-language service of the Voice of America, the state-funded international broadcaster of the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Persian News Network reaches viewers in Iran and the Persian-speaking diaspora with news, analysis and discussion programs, and its live stream extends a broadcast tradition that began with radio in 1979.

From Radio to Television

Persian broadcasting at the Voice of America began on 22 November 1979 with a daily half-hour of radio, launched weeks after the start of the hostage crisis in Tehran. Television followed on 18 October 1996 with one live hour per day, eventually growing into a full news network. The service's first director was Ahmadreza Baharloo, with later leaders including Ramin Asgard and Setareh Derakhsh.

Programs That Defined the Service

The network built its reputation on a mix of news and talk formats: the Akhbar news blocks, the call-in program Rooy-e Khat (On the Line), the political interview show Ofoq (Horizon) and the analysis program Safheye Akhar (Last Page). Its satirical output became a cultural phenomenon, above all Parazit, the political comedy show, alongside the satirical news of Antenna and the arts magazine Shabahang. After structural changes in recent years, the schedule has concentrated on news coverage and current events.

The 2025 Shutdown and Partial Return

In March 2025 a U.S. executive order cutting the U.S. Agency for Global Media sent more than 1,300 Voice of America employees on administrative leave, sharply reducing the broadcaster's output and affecting the Persian service. When fighting between Iran and Israel escalated in June 2025, some Persian-service journalists were recalled to cover the region, and Farsi remained among the few languages preserved as staffing was reduced. In March 2026 a U.S. court ordered the Voice of America restored.

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