Iran state TV resumed live coverage after Israel’s attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building on Monday.
“The Zionist regime, the enemy of the Iranian nation, minutes ago conducted a military operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran news network”, part of IRIB, said Hassan Abedini, a senior official at the broadcasting service. “The regime (Israel) was unaware of the fact that the voice of the Islamic revolution and the great Iran will not be silenced with a military operation.”
The blast occurred as the presenter was live on TV, lambasting Israel before she was seen leaving the live broadcast, Iranian media reported, sharing a video of the incident. The attack was confirmed by the Israeli defence minister as well.
Iran’s Mehr news agency posted visuals from the attack on the IRIB building on X.
Iran’s Press TV also shared a video showing the aftermath of the attack.
IRNA reported that “live programmes were briefly halted at the IRIB News Network but returned to normal a few minutes afterwards”.
The attack came shortly after Iranian media reported Israeli airstrikes in a civilian residential neighbourhood in Tehran.
Iran condemned Israel’s attack as a “war crime” and called on the UN Security Council to take action.
The strike on the offices of IRIB during a live broadcast was a “wicked act” and a “war crime”, said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. “The UNSC must act now to stop the genocidal aggressor from committing further atrocities against our people,” he added.
Latest developments:
Israel airstrikes hit parts of Tehran
11 new deaths in Israel take toll to 24; Tehran says 224 killed in Iran so far, with over 1,000 injured
Russia ‘ready to mediate’ and accept Tehran’s uranium
Fire seen at power plant near Israel’s Haifa port; residential buildings destroyed near US Embassy branch in Tel Aviv
Iran president reiterates Tehran does not seek nuclear weapons
Trump reportedly vetoed plan to target Khamenei; Netanyahu claims Iran tried to assassinate US president twice
3 more Iranian commanders killed; Tehran hangs man on charges of spying for Mossad
Iran subsequently issued evacuation warnings for Israeli news channels, Iranian state TV reported.
“Iran has issued an evacuation warning for the N12 and N14 channels of Israel. This order comes in response to the hostile attack of Zionist enemy against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s broadcasting service,” state TV said.
Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the UNSC that Iran’s strikes on Israel were self-defence and were “proportionate defensive operations directed exclusively at military objectives and associated infrastructure”.
He wrote in a letter that any cooperation by third countries with Israel’s strikes on Iran “makes them complicit in the legal responsibility and consequences of this crisis”. Under Article 51 of the founding United Nations Charter, the 15-member Security Council must immediately be informed of any action that states take in self-defence against armed attack.
Separately, Iranian media outlets IRNA and Mehr claimed that the air defence in Tabriz shot down another Israeli F-35 fighter jet.
