Israeli forces struck Iran’s state television building in Tehran on Monday evening, interrupting a live broadcast and forcing the anchor to flee her desk as explosions rocked the studio.
Video footage from the IRIB state broadcaster showed presenter Sahar Emami broadcasting when massive explosions interrupted the transmission.
The anchor left her desk amid smoke and rubble as the studio shook from the missile impact. Chants of “Allah-hu-Akbar” could be heard in the background as the broadcast went dark.
After 30 minutes, Iranian state television resumed broadcasting from a new studio. Emami returned to the air later to continue reporting on the conflict.
Take a look —
Holy smokes.
An Israeli missile strikes and hits Iranian state media while live on air.
This is insane.
pic.twitter.com/CsRSys1NWP— Jack (@jackunheard) June 16, 2025
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed the strike in a statement.
“The propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority of the Iranian regime was attacked” by Israeli forces. Earlier Monday, Katz had warned that Iran’s state television and radio were “about to disappear.”
Israel has issued multiple evacuation orders for civilians in Tehran in the fight to stop Iranian development of nuclear weapons. One evacuation order focused specifically on the northern Tehran neighborhood where Iran’s state television is located.
Traffic jams stretched for miles on highways leaving Tehran as residents abandoned their homes, stockpiled essential supplies, and headed to smaller towns to escape the Israeli strikes. Iranian authorities have dismissed Israeli warnings as “psychological warfare” and urged citizens not to panic, but state media later aired footage of the massive traffic congestion.
The Israeli military says it has achieved full control of the airspace over Tehran after destroying Iran’s air defense systems.
“We are on our way to achieving our two main objectives: eliminating the nuclear threat and eliminating the missile threat,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli soldiers.
The conflict has escalated dramatically since Friday. Israeli strikes have killed around 250 Iranians, according to Iran’s health ministry, almost all of which are in the military or working on their nuclear weapons program. Iran’s missile strikes on Israel have killed 24 Israeli civilians, according to Israeli emergency services.
Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem neighborhoods, with most intercepted by Israeli air defense systems, though seven missiles struck Israeli cities.
On Monday, Iranian missiles hit Israel’s oil refinery in Haifa, marking a significant escalation in targeting Israeli infrastructure.
After Iran’s latest missile barrage Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a warning that Tehran is “going to pay the price soon” for attacks on Israeli cities.
“While there is no intention to physically harm the residents of Tehran as the murderous dictator does against the residents of Israel, the residents of Tehran will be forced to pay the price of dictatorship and evacuate their homes from areas where it will be necessary to attack regime targets and security infrastructure in Tehran. We will continue to protect the residents of Israel,” Katz said in his Monday statement.
Shortly before attacking the state television building, Katz issued another statement saying “Iran’s propaganda mouthpiece is going to be silenced.”
Israel believed it had an operational window to assassinate Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei over the weekend, but President Donald Trump opposed the plan, according to reports.
Israel has asked the Trump administration to join the war to help eliminate Iran’s underground uranium enrichment facilities, but so far the United States has only provided defensive assistance to Israel.
Local reports suggest that IRIB television staff, including anchor Sahar Emami, escaped the strike without injuries. There was no immediate official information about casualties or damage from Monday evening’s attack on the broadcaster.