Kari Lake confirms VOA staff being recalled as Iran-Israel conflict grows

In an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) senior advisor Kari Lake confirmed that Voice of America’s (VOA) Persian news service is ramping up coverage as tensions between Iran and Israel intensify.

“History is being made, and VOA Persian news service is rising to the occasion to cover it,” Lake said Friday.

“Farsi language is a statutorily required for USAGM. We are ramping up — as we’ve always planned to do — to meet this historic moment,” she continued. “Everyone who is being called back has been on paid administrative leave, so they are simply being called back into the office to cover this historic moment in Iran.”

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“VOA Persian news service is, very appropriately, covering one of the most consequential moments in Iran’s history,” she concluded.

Lake’s remarks follow the recall of approximately 75 Farsi-speaking staffers, including dozens of journalists, from administrative leave, according to The Washington Post. Most are returning to cover the escalating conflict, which began with Israel’s precision strike on Iranian nuclear sites and was followed by Iran’s missile barrage on Israeli cities.

The move comes after months of cost-cutting at the government-funded VOA and USAGM. 

In May, the Trump administration laid off more than 500 personal service contractors and placed another 800 employees on leave starting in March. The goal: eliminate waste and refocus on the agency’s statutory mission.

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Now, with Iran on the brink and the world watching, VOA’s Persian division is back on the frontlines. Journalists say they are preparing to resume full satellite TV broadcasts in Iran, not just online updates.

Some at VOA have raised concerns. “Are they going to bring back a language every time there is a crisis the administration has interest in?” one source told The Washington Post. 

VOA’s Persian news site was most recently published on Friday.