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Only three months ago, an executive decision by Trump cut off government support for those international broadcasters, which caused hundreds of government-employed VOA journalists to be placed on a paid leave and led to a reduction of RFE/RL’s operations. The shutdown was met with legal challenges that continue.
But after Israel carried out a historic series of attacks inside Iran on Friday, V.O.A. hastily called dozens of its workers back, particularly those involved in its Farsi-language programming.
News crews fast on the scene during the crisis.
Trump’s choice to oversee the agency, Kari Lake, confirmed the Persian service was providing coverage of the erupting conflict. RFE/RL editor-in-chief Nicola Natasha Careem lauded Radio Farda, the Persian service of RFE/RL, for engaging audiences under many challenges. She said their content received millions of views in a single day — far outstripping a typical US government outreach.
Michael Abramowitz, the director of VOA, praised the staff’s swift actions in a memo, even as he pointed out that VOA Persia was now just a third of its old size. Since the cut, the VOA has scaled back significantly, particularly in areas such as China and Iran, he said.
Opposition and support of the Restoration
The closing of these services has been sharply criticized by former diplomats and lawmakers. The cuts amounted to “unilateral disarmament” that hurt the power of the United States message abroad, said Nicholas Burns, a former US ambassador.
Representative Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, also condemned the decision as shortsighted and stressed the importance of platforms like VOA in combating propaganda by authoritarians.
Abramowitz made that point in his memo as well, noting the VOA's importance is not limited to Iran.
Careem fired back at Lake’s previous support for cuts in funding, saying that if she had her way, millions of Iranians would have been without access to credible news.
But the return of these broadcasts enabled Radio Farda to deliver vital news during a period of deepening turmoil in the Middle East.
