Rahimpour left the BBC in order to ''have access to more platforms as a freelance journalist so to be a voice for the Iranians fighting for democracy. '' As one of the main anchors of BBC Persian TV, she was under constant attacks and threats by the Iranian regime.

BBC Persian (Persian: بی‌بی‌سی فارسی) is the Persian language broadcast station and subsidiary of BBC World Service which conveys the latest political, social, economical and sport news relevant to Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, and the world.

Back in 2019, the Huffington Post reported that the BBC had "agreed to conditions set by the Islamic Republic of Iran to not share reporting materials it gathers in Iran with its Persian-language channel, BBC Persian, in exchange for Iran allowing a BBC correspondent into the country."

Launched on 11 March 1991 as BBC World Service Television outside Europe, its name was changed to BBC World on 16 January 1995 and to BBC World News on 21 April 2008 and again to BBC News (International) on 3 April 2023 after its consolidation with the domestic BBC News Channel.