The US government-funded Voice of America has suddenly recalled its Persian-language staff from administrative leave, the US Agency for Global Media said on Friday.

Several dozen employees, sidelined since March under a directive from the Trump administration, were told to return to work “effective immediately” to boost Farsi programming amid the Israel–Iran crisis.

The recall represents a significant reversal for the broadcaster, which had its operations drastically reduced when the Trump administration implemented major cutbacks in March 2025.

Prior to the March cutbacks, VOA broadcast four or more hours of “Persian-language programming to Iran” every day.

The VOA website said the content “confronts the disinformation and censorship efforts of the Iranian regime and enhances U.S. efforts to speak directly to the Iranian people and the global Persian-speaking diaspora.”

It is unclear how much content VOA has been beaming into Iran in recent weeks. The broadcaster’s VOA Farsi channel on YouTube showed eight new videos since Israel struck inside Iran early Friday.