U.S. to Begin Nightly News Broadcasts to Iran

The U.S. government will launch a nightly news broadcast to Iran on Sunday to provide information to Iranians opposed to their conservative leaders, a spokeswoman for the Voice of America said Thursday.

The half-hour TV program will be available across Iran by satellite from 9:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time, said the spokeswoman, who asked not to be named.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors, which runs U.S. government broadcasting to foreign audiences, decided to launch the program after student protests against the Iranian government last month.

“The aim is to provide reliable news and information to the people of Iran as they’re in this struggle for self-determination. They really need information right now,” the spokeswoman said.

The news broadcasts are in addition to Radio Farda, a 24-hour U.S.-run Persian-language radio service, and two other weekly television programs.

VOA said the new program would run until the end of September and cost $500,000. It will use existing VOA staff and Radio Farda stringers in Iran.

The U.S. government says its news broadcasts merely provide information and are politically neutral. But the governments they target often see them as hostile propaganda.

The Bush administration came out in open support of the objectives of the student protesters last month. But the protests have since subsided and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said Wednesday that the United States should avoid intervention in Iranian politics.