On Monday, the Israeli military launched a direct strike on Iran’s state media headquarters in Tehran, hitting the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building with at least four bombs during a live broadcast. The attack briefly disrupted transmission and forced the evacuation of on-air journalists, including news anchor Sahar Emami, who remained at her desk as the first blasts shook the studio. IRIB news director Hassan Abedini later returned to the airwaves to condemn the bombing as a “terrorist crime.”
The Iranian government and military responded swiftly, calling the attack a war crime and demanding international accountability. Iran’s foreign ministry urged the United Nations to act, while the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps labeled the bombing “inhuman” and “criminal.” International media watchdogs echoed the alarm, with the Committee to Protect Journalists decrying the strike as part of Israel’s broader campaign against journalists, pointing to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian media workers since 2023.
Israel’s war ministry openly claimed responsibility for the strike, part of a wider military campaign against Iran launched late last week. The ongoing conflict, now entering its third day of escalation under Iran’s retaliatory operation “True Promise III,” has seen dozens killed, including high-ranking Iranian officials and civilians. Monday’s assault on IRIB marked a chilling milestone: the first time a nation-state has bombed a national newsroom during a live television broadcast.