RSF - Reporters sans frontières

04/23/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/23/2026 23:10

Media blackout in Iran: RSF launches Persian-language radio frequency with RFPI to deliver reliable, independent news

In partnership with the French human rights NGO Radio For Peace International (RFPI), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is launching a new shortwave radio frequency for audiences in Iran in a bid to break the country's media blackout and counter censorship. The frequency will be available two hours a day on 9770 kHz, at midday and 11 p.m. Tehran local time. The station will air reliable, fact-checked content in Persian, produced by the independent news outlet IranWire.

"For weeks, the Iranian public has been deprived of varied, balanced sources of information, and journalists have been silenced, forced into exile, and exposed to serious danger. As the war with the United States continues and repression by the Iranian regime intensifies, restoring a direct link with listeners is essential. Shortwave broadcasting allows us to bypass censorship and restore access to fact-checked content produced by independent journalists. This is a concrete response to an emergency situation and a powerful reminder of the fact that the right to information is a fundamental right that cannot be suspended or silenced, even in the most extreme circumstances.

Jonathan Dagher
Head of the RSF Middle East Desk

From 27 April, audiences in Iran will have access to news bulletins and current affairs programmes notably produced by IranWire - a news site run by professional Iranian journalists belonging to the diaspora and citizen journalists in Iran, which has been censored in the country since its creation in 2013.

RSF and RFPI - an NGO that broadcasts shortwave programmes focused on human rights - have joined forces to ensure that reliable Persian-language content is able to reach listeners in Iran even when internet access is restricted and international media outlets are blocked. Anyone with a radio capable of receiving shortwave signals will be able to access the programmes uninterruptedly and for free.

Unlike digital platforms, shortwave transmissions are difficult to block on a large scale. During internet shutdowns and other contexts in which information is restricted, they provide a particularly effective means of broadcasting independent content and reaching the population.

Press muzzled, access to information censored

The Iranian regime's crackdown on journalists has intensified significantly in recent years, to the point where it has become a systematic policy to control information: Arrests, surveillance and threats have become routine for media professionals operating in the country. Since 2022, more than a hundred journalists have been arrested, and around twenty remain behind bars to this day. Recent waves of protest, particularly in late 2025, have further intensified this repression, with new arrests, a climate of widespread intimidation, and an unprecedented severing of communications with the outside world. Now, this systematic repression is aggravated by a whole new set of challenges brought by living and working under heavy bombardment following the Israeli-American offensive. At the same time, the Iranian regime is threatening and targeting journalists in exile, illustrating the scale of its repressive system that extends beyond the country's borders.

Published on 23.04.2026
RSF - Reporters sans frontières published this content on April 23, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on April 24, 2026 at 05:10 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]