BBC Persian is the Persian language broadcast station and subsidiary of the BBC World Service, which conveys the latest political, social, economic, and sports news relevant to Iran and the world
1
. Its headquarters are in London, United Kingdom
1
. Persian has one of the fewest native and total speakers in the BBC World Service, with approximately 35 million native speakers in Iran, 12 million in Afghanistan, and smaller populations in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
1
.
The BBC Persian service began during World War II on December 29, 1940, encouraged by the Foreign Office as part of its Empire Service
1
. The goal was to counteract the influence of Nazi Germany, which was seen as sympathetic to Iran’s then-monarch, Reza Shah Pahlavi
1
. Following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in August 1941, the Foreign Office continued to use the Persian Service to broadcast about the autocratic style of the king and promote republican systems of government
1
.
The Persian Service continued after the war as part of the BBC General Overseas Service, with more editorial independence from the UK government
1
. However, the risk of the Iranian nationalization of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company led to increased broadcasting, causing many Iranians to believe the Persian Service was not independent
1
. During the 1953 Iranian coup d’état, the British government used the BBC’s Persian service to advance its propaganda against democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh
1
.
In recent years, BBC Persian has faced significant challenges, including cyber-attacks, threats, and harassment from the Iranian government
1
. Despite these obstacles, the service continues to provide critical news and information to Persian-speaking audiences around the world
1
.
For more information, you can watch a video about BBC Persian on YouTube here
2
.
Does this cover what you were looking for, or is there a specific aspect of BBC Persian you’d like to know more about?
1
en.wikipedia.org
2
www.youtube.com
وجهتك للاخبار الجديدة