BBC launches emergency lifeline radio programme for Iran

BBC launches emergency lifeline radio programme for Iran

The programme will air daily for 30 minutes across medium and shortwave frequencies

The BBC World Service has launched a temporary emergency lifeline radio programme for Iran in response to the ongoing turmoil in the country, and the unprecedented crackdown on protests.

To complement the existing BBC News Persian video and digital services, the radio programme will be available on mediumwave and shortwave across Iran to increase the population's access to news and information. To broaden its offer and availability of programming, the BBC World Service has also made some of its TV content available on mediumwave radio.

Since 8 January, the Iranian people have been subject to an internet blackout. Prior to this, BBC News Persian's digital services saw their biggest reach in a year with their platforms reaching more than 33 million people.

The short-term programme will cover the latest news and developments in Iran and will place events inside the country within their wider regional and international context. It will feature voices from inside Iran alongside clear, informed analysis of the most recent political, social, and economic developments shaping the situation in the country.

The programme will air daily for 30 minutes across medium and shortwave frequencies from 4.30pm GMT / 8pm Iran Standard Time. The temporary programme has been granted resource from existing funds until the end of March 2026.

Fiona Crack, Interim Global Director, BBC News, says: "A key role of the BBC World Service is to step up in times of crisis to provide news and information for our audiences in greatest need. BBC News Persian reaches one in four adults in Iran, which is an astonishing feat considering their reporting is banned in the country.

"The team have been essential in telling the urgent story of the Iranian people to audiences around the world, and our new radio programme will give the Iranian people more ways to access independent and impartial news."

Tarik Kafala, Interim Regional Director, Middle East and North Africa, says: "BBC News Persian have worked tirelessly to deliver journalism throughout this period of unrest as the demand for trusted news has soared in Iran. The teams have supplied extended TV hours in Iran and an increased offer on digital platforms for the Iranian people. They have reported for UK audiences across bulletins, live pages and on forensic journalism with BBC Verify."

The BBC World Service has a history of launching emergency services in times of crisis. In April 2025, BBC News Burmese started providing audio and video content on a satellite channel in the aftermath of Myanmar earthquake.

In April 2024, following the fall of the Assad regime, the BBC World Service set up an enhanced audio channel on FM and mediumwave for the people of Syria. This follows the emergency radio service for Gaza in November 2024 and for Sudan in May 2023 amid conflict.

In February 2022, the BBC News Ukraine service extended TV bulletins following the invasion of the country.

Where to find the programme:

The live programme will be available at 4.30pm GMT (8pm Iran Time) on 702kHz medium wave and 9465kHz short wave

The programme will be repeated at 6pm GMT (9.30pm Iran time) on 702kHz mediumwave and 5395kHz shortwave

A visualised version of the programme will be broadcast on BBC Persian TV at 6pm GMT (9.30pm Iran time)

(Source: BBC Press Release)

BBC adds SW/MW frequencies in Persian to Iran

BBC NEWS @bbcpersian on X

Listen to the latest news related to the nationwide protests and unrest in Iran via radio on shortwave and medium wave :

Shortwave
7:00 to 7:30 am Tehran time (0330 - 0400 UTC) on frequency: 9410 KHz
8:00 to 8:30 am Tehran time (0430-0500 UTC) on frequency: 9465 KHz
10:00 to 11:00 pm Tehran time  (1830-1930 UTC)  on frequency: 7445 KHz

Medium wave 

Frequency 1395KHz
9:00 to 9:30 p.m. Tehran time (1730-1800 UTC)
11:00 to 11:30 p.m. Tehran time (1930-2000 UTC)

The BBC World Service stopped broadcasting its Persian (Farsi) radio service, which included shortwave transmissions, on March 26, 2023.

(Translated from Persian, UTC added)

Logo courtesy BBC Persian

Alokesh Gupta

Iran targets BBC Persian service by jamming signals and harassing staff

Staff at the BBC's Persian service face satellite jamming, smear campaigns and intimidation, says Peter Horrocks, director of the BBC World Service. In an article for Index on Censorship, he reveals that Iran's interference with the BBC's signals started in 2009 at the time of  Iran's presidential election.

More at :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2013/feb/22/bbc-world-service-censorship

BBC Persian television broadcasting despite interference from Iran

BBC Persian television is continuing to broadcast into Iran despite attempts to jam the station's signal. The persistent interference began soon after BBC Persian began extended coverage of the death of leading reformist cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri. This includes the first airing of an exclusive interview with the grand ayatollah which was filmed before his death. The senior cleric, who had not been seen on Iranian television screens for 20 years, was one of Shia Islam's most respected figures and a leading critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The jamming began on Sunday 20 December and affected the Hotbird 6 satellite which carries the BBC's international television and radio services in various languages as well as services from other broadcasters. BBC Persian television is also carried on other satellite networks including Telstar and Eutelsat W2M.

The BBC is looking at ways to increase the options for its Farsi-speaking audiences in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, which may include broadcasting on other satellites. In June this year, BBC Persian television suffered similar deliberate attempts to interfere with its signal when airing extended coverage of the Iranian elections. At that time, the satellite operator traced the interference and confirmed it was coming from inside Iran. BBC World Service Director, Peter Horrocks, said: "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 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."

BBC Persian is the BBC's integrated news and information service for Persian-speakers. It is available on-air and on-demand 24-hours a day, seven days a week. It is designed to reach audiences on radio, television, the internet – on bbcpersian.com – mobile phones and handheld computers in whatever way best suits the audience. BBC Persian is one of the oldest of the BBC's non-English language services. Launched on 28 December 1940, it has evolved into the Persian-speaking world's leading international broadcaster, covering the political, social and cultural issues that matter to its diverse audiences in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and across the world. With its TV presence, BBC Persian is bringing the world to Persian-speaking audiences – reporting the news wherever it leads. The latest news from BBC Persian is now available on mobile phones, PDAs and other wireless handheld devices.

(BBC World Service Publicity)

BBC Persian television combats broadcast interference from Iran

The BBC has increased the number of satellites that carry its BBC Persian television service for Farsi-speakers in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.This follows persistent interference of the Hotbird 6 satellite which carries the BBC's international television and radio services in various languages as well as services from other broadcasters. From now on, BBC Persian television will now be additionally available on the Eutelsat W2M satellite and continues un-interrupted on the Telstar 12 satellite. BBC Persian is also expected to be available on Nilesat soon. They will serve Farsi-speaking audiences across the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Since Friday 12 June the BBC Persian service, other BBC services, and the services of other broadcasters on Hotbird 6 have been subject to deliberate interference. BBC Arabic television and various language services have also been experiencing transmission problems including being off the air at various points. The satellite operator has traced the interference and has confirmed it is coming from within Iran. This interference is contrary to all international agreements for satellite usage to which Iran is a signatory. BBC Persian television has extended its broadcast hours. There are an extra five hours of programming at Iranian breakfast and lunchtime, in addition to its usual evening broadcasts. Radio broadcasts have also been extended. BBC World Service Director Peter Horrocks said: "This is an important time for Iran and many Iranians are turning to the BBC for impartial and independent news and information during this crisis. "We hope that by adding more ways to access BBC Persian television, Farsi-speaking audiences can get the high-quality news, analysis and debate they clearly desire. "We also hope this will lessen the impact on other broadcasters who have been affected by the interference."

BBC Persian will be available on:

1) Eutelsat W2M at 3.1° East (11. 473 GHz – vertical polarised). This is only 10º west of Hotbird

6 and can be found by making a small adjustment to the position of the satellite receiver dish. 2) Nilesat at 7° West, 10.757 GHz (vertically polarised)

3) Telstar T12, 15° West , 12.608 GHz (horizontally polarised)

BBC Persian's online services have been partially blocked in Iran since 2006. Despite the interference, bbcpersian.com has experienced a huge growth in usage since the current protests began. Compared to traffic in May, the number of daily page impressions increased seven-fold to more than 3.6 million page impressions earlier this week. The number of visitors to the website has seen a four-fold increase. Online users streaming BBC Persian television through bbcpersian.com have also increased. On Monday 15 June alone the stream was accessed nearly half a million times online – this is more video requests than the whole of last May. The BBC Persian YouTube channel showed an increase in usage until the Iranian authorities blocked the site to those within Iran last weekend. The huge growth in Iran's usage of the BBC's online services means Iran is now second only to the USA as the country which streams the most BBC World Service TV and radio services. BBC Persian has also been receiving user-generated content, such as videos and eye-witness accounts via email and phone, at a rate of up to eight per minute. BBC Persian is the BBC's integrated news and information service for Persian-speakers. It is available on air and on demand 24-hours a day, seven days a week. It is designed to reach audiences on radio, TV, the internet – on bbcpersian.com – mobile phones and handheld computers in whatever way best suits the audience. BBC Persian is one of the oldest of the BBC's non-English language services. Launched on 28 December 1940, it has evolved into the Persian-speaking world's leading international broadcaster, covering the political, social and cultural issues that matter to its diverse audiences in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and across the world. With its new TV presence, BBC Persian is bringing the world to Persian-speaking audiences, reporting the news wherever it leads. The latest news from BBC Persian is now available on mobile phones, PDAs and other wireless handheld devices. BBC World Service is an international multimedia broadcaster delivering 32 language and regional services, including: Albanian, Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Burmese, Cantonese, English, English for Africa, English for the Caribbean, French for Africa , Hausa, Hindi, Indonesian, Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Mandarin, Nepali, Pashto, Persian, Portuguese for Africa, Portuguese for Brazil, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Somali, Spanish for Latin America, Swahili, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, and Vietnamese. It uses multiple platforms to reach 188 million users globally, including shortwave, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels. It has around 2,000 partner radio stations which take BBC content, and numerous partnerships supplying content to mobile phones and other wireless handheld devices. Its news sites include audio and video content and offer opportunities to join the global debate. For more information, visit bbcworldservice.com. To find out more about the BBC's English language offer and subscribe to a free e-newsletter, visit bbcworldservice.com/schedules

(BBC World Service Press Release)

New-look bbcpersian.com launched

Date: 04.11.2008
In another step toward the upcoming launch of a multimedia service in Farsi, the BBC has re-launched the bbcpersian.com website. Its improved format, exciting new features and design showcase the best editorial content across BBC Persian online and radio - as well as giving a glimpse of the BBC's soon to be launched Persian-language television. By re-launching bbcpersian.com, the BBC enhances this already successful online source of news and information for Persian-speakers, wherever they are. Despite having been blocked in Iran since January 2006, bbcpersian.com is one of the most successful BBC World Service websites, receiving more than 19 million page impressions every month from users across the world. It is one of the leading Persian-language websites in the world in terms of reputation and level of use. The BBC has improved the design and functionality of the site, tailoring the presentation and localisation of its content for global Persian-speaking audiences. In addition to access to the BBC Persian radio programming, the revamped website also offers the audiences extensive video content. Roberto Belo-Rovella, editorial lead in the re-launch project run by the BBC World Service Future Media team, says: "The new-look bbcpersian.com means it's wider, 'cleaner' and easier to use - and re-use. "By launching the website in this new attractive format, we are tapping into a huge Persian-speaking online community, be it in Iran, Afghanistan or diaspora audiences, making our content more widely available and more appealing to younger Persian users. "In this revamped version, the website will help us better engage with Persian-speaking online communities." Head of the BBC Persian and BBC Pashto service, Andres Ilves, comments: "The new-look website will continue to provide our audiences with 24/7 access to BBC Persian output and will be the main driver of interactivity and user-generated content for our multimedia offer.
"Persian-speaking audiences want to discuss and debate Iran's role in, and contribution to, the world, and we want to enable them to participate in, and enrich, our output." Ilves adds that, with the upcoming launch of BBC Persian television and online streaming of its programmes, the website's role will further increase: "Persian-speaking audiences want a bigger picture view of the world and their place in it. The backbone of the BBC Persian multimedia offer will be eight hours of world class Persian-language television every day. "Our audiences want more than geopolitics, and the BBC Persian news agenda will be broad, reflecting all aspects of life, including the latest developments in culture, society, science, lifestyle, technology and business with bespoke content on these topics - on radio, online and, soon, on TV."

(BBC World Service Press Office)