IPTV Persian Channels: Free, Paid and Off-Limits in the US

Short answer: most of the Persian-language TV that Iranian-Americans actually watch is free and comes straight from the broadcaster. Iran International, BBC Persian and Manoto all stream on their own websites and YouTube channels, and the Los Angeles channels publish their own feeds. The catch sits at the other end of the dial: Iran's state broadcaster, IRIB, is on the US Treasury sanctions list, so no US company can legally sell you IRIB channels. A "Persian IPTV" box that promises 300 Farsi channels, including IRIB's, for $15 a month isn't a licensed product.

Who makes Persian TV, and where from

When people search for Persian IPTV channels, they're usually after one of three very different things, and the legal route is different for each.

Diaspora news channels based in London and Washington. Iran International and Manoto broadcast from London. BBC Persian is part of the BBC World Service and is paid for by the UK government. VOA Persian was the US government's channel. These are the channels most Iranian households in Los Angeles, Toronto or Houston leave on in the evening, and they want as many viewers as possible, so they give their live streams away.

Los Angeles entertainment channels. "Tehrangeles" has produced Persian television since the 1980s. Channels such as Pars TV and ITN run talk shows, music and call-in programmes, and they fund them through advertising, so they also stream for free on their own sites, apps and YouTube.

Channels from inside Iran. These are IRIB's TV1 to TV5, IFilm, the Jame Jam service for Iranians abroad and the IRINN news channel. This is where the law gets in the way, as explained below.

So the honest picture is that most of what you want is free, a small part costs money, and one part you can't buy legally from anyone in the US.

Channel by channel: how to watch each one

This table covers the channels that come up most often. Each one points to the broadcaster's own outlet, which is the only place you can be sure the stream is the real one and will still be working next month.

Two practical tips. First, YouTube is often the most reliable route, because the channels' own players can buckle under load during big news nights, and YouTube's doesn't. Second, subscribe to the official YouTube channel from the broadcaster's website link rather than through a search. Re-uploaded "live" streams of Persian channels are common, and some of them carry their own ads or quietly switch to something else.

If Persian films and series matter more to you than live news, the paid route is the mainstream services. Iranian cinema, Asghar Farhadi's films for example, rotates through Netflix, the Criterion Channel and Kanopy (free with many US library cards). The selection changes, so search the title rather than browsing for a "Persian" category.

Why IRIB is the exception

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting in February 2013, citing its role in airing forced confessions. That designation is still in place. In practice it means a US company can't do business with IRIB, which rules out licensing its channels for resale here.

The Justice Department has gone further with IRIB-linked news sites. In October 2020 and again in June 2021 it seized dozens of domains used by Iranian state media, including Press TV's .com address. The channels moved to other domains, but the point stands: there is no US distributor with a contract to carry them.

That's why the big US live TV services, Sling, DirecTV and Fubo among them, don't offer a Persian package. A package without IRIB isn't much of a package, and a package with it can't be sold. The diaspora channels don't need a distributor, because they give their streams away.

Watching IRIB's own free web stream from the US isn't the same as buying it, and individual viewers aren't who sanctions enforcement is aimed at. But anyone charging you a monthly fee for IRIB channels in the US is, by definition, not licensed to do so. That alone tells you what kind of seller you're dealing with.

Manoto and VOA Persian: what changed

If you last looked a few years ago, two of the big names have changed.

Manoto, the London channel known for its slick entertainment and pre-revolution documentaries, ended its satellite broadcasts on 31 January 2024 after its funding dried up. It kept posting on YouTube and X, and in 2025 it came back as a subscription service internationally, while returning to free satellite inside Iran. If you see a "free Manoto" stream on a reseller's channel list, it's either old footage or a copy of the paid service.

VOA Persian was shut down along with most of Voice of America under a March 2025 executive order. Persian staff were partly recalled in June 2025 during the Iran-Israel war, but a March 2026 letter from Senator Blumenthal said the cuts had taken VOA Persian off the air and that the service had managed only a few hours of content a day during that conflict. Its status has been contested in court, so check its site before assuming there's a live channel to watch.

In the meantime, Iran International and BBC Persian have become the default for live news.

Getting it onto the living-room TV

Since most of these channels live on websites and YouTube, the question is really how to get a browser or YouTube onto the big screen. Here's what works, from simplest to fiddliest:

1. The YouTube app. It's on every smart TV platform, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and Google TV. Sign in, subscribe to the official channels, and the live streams show up under Subscriptions with a red "LIVE" badge. This covers Iran International, BBC Persian and most LA channels.
2. Casting from a phone. For channels that only stream on their website, open the stream on your phone and cast or AirPlay it. Some sites' players block casting, in which case mirror the whole screen instead.
3. A channel's own TV app. A few LA channels publish Roku or Apple TV apps. Search the store for the channel's exact name and check the developer matches the broadcaster.
4. A laptop on HDMI. Unglamorous but reliable for a parent who just wants the news on: a browser window, full screen, on the TV.

For older relatives, set it up once and pin the channel to the home screen. Our guide to streaming TV for seniors covers the remote-control side of that.

Bandwidth isn't a problem here. A 1080p YouTube live stream uses about 5 to 8 Mbps, so any normal home connection copes.

Free satellite still works

Before streaming took over, Iranian-Americans watched these channels on a free-to-air dish, and it's still an option. In North America the Galaxy 19 satellite has long carried a large group of unencrypted Persian channels, many of them from Los Angeles. You need a small dish (about 90 cm for the Ku band), an FTA receiver, and a clear view of the southern sky.

No subscription, no internet, and no question about licensing, because the broadcasters choose to send these channels out unencrypted. The downsides are installation, the occasional channel moving frequency, and lineups that change without notice. Check a current satellite listing before buying anything.

The "Persian IPTV box" problem

Search for Persian channels and you'll quickly find sellers offering a box or app with "300+ Farsi channels" for a flat monthly fee. Most of them retransmit free diaspora channels they have no deal with, mixed with IRIB channels nobody in the US can license, plus Hollywood movie channels for good measure.

The practical risks are boring but real:

• It stops working. Streams vanish when the source changes its address, and support is a WhatsApp number.
• You can't get your money back. Many of these sellers want annual payment by Zelle, gift card or crypto, which have no buyer protection. See how to spot an IPTV scam before paying anyone.
• The box itself. Unbranded Android boxes often run outdated software and come preloaded with apps you didn't choose.

The irony is that the channels most people want from these boxes are free from the broadcaster anyway. For a fuller explanation of where the legal line sits for viewers, read is IPTV legal in the US. If you also want Arabic-language channels in the same house, our Arabic TV in the USA guide covers the licensed services, some of which also carry a few Persian-language programmes.

Quick answers

What's the best way to watch Persian TV in the US?
For live news and talk shows, the YouTube app on your TV, subscribed to the broadcasters' official channels. It's free and works on every device.

Is Iran International free to watch?
Yes. Its live stream is free on its website and official YouTube channel.

Can I get IRIB channels in the US legally?
Not from a paid US seller. IRIB has been on the US Treasury's sanctions list since 2013, so no US company can license its channels.

Is Manoto still on air?
Its satellite service ended in January 2024. It returned in 2025 as an international subscription service, with a free satellite feed inside Iran.

Does Sling or DirecTV have Persian channels?
No meaningful Persian package. The diaspora channels stream free themselves, and the state channels can't be licensed.

Can I still watch Persian channels by satellite?
Yes. Galaxy 19 has long carried free-to-air Persian channels in North America. You need a dish and an FTA receiver, with no subscription.

Are "Persian IPTV" boxes legal?
Boxes that charge a monthly fee for hundreds of Farsi channels, including IRIB, aren't licensed. They also tend to fail without warning and are hard to get refunds from.

Persian broadcasting changes quickly: channels lose funding, return as subscriptions, change domains or move satellites, and VOA Persian's status is still being argued over in court. Use each broadcaster's own website to confirm the current stream before pointing a family member at it. Checked October 2026.