Updated toll: Israeli strike on IRIB kills 3
4 Min Read
Tehran urges UN action, calling the attack on its state broadcaster during live transmission a war crime and a direct assault on press freedom.
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Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei speaks at a press conference in Iran in this undated photo (IRNA)
Three employees of Iran’s state television were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the broadcaster’s headquarters in Tehran, Iranian media reported Tuesday.
The strike, which took place on Monday, marks a grim escalation in the Israeli occupation’s ongoing assault against civilian and institutional infrastructure in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The announcement was made by IRIB, which announced, “Three staff members were killed and others were wounded in the Israeli attack.”
While the report did not specify how many were hospitalized, the damage to the building and its personnel has heightened fears of further attacks on non-military facilities.
Troubling trend
The Israeli aggression against Iran’s state media center shows a troubling trend in the current war, targeting not only military sites but also communications infrastructure and press institutions. The airstrike came amid a campaign by "Israel" that has included attacks on civilian zones, cultural sites, and now the very media outlets that report on the war, even hospitals.
CPJ 'appalled'
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the Israeli attack on IRIB, calling it "appalling".
“CPJ is appalled by Israel’s bombing of Iran’s state television channel while reporters were live on air,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah.
“Israel’s killing, with impunity, of at least 185 journalists in Gaza has emboldened it to target media elsewhere in the region," she added, asserting, "This bloodshed must end now.”
While the Iranian government has yet to release an official casualty list, the strike is already drawing condemnation from Iranian officials and media unions, who see it as an effort to silence voices opposing Western and Israeli narratives.
Earlier this week, Israel Katz called for the deliberate killing of Iranian civilians, which was followed by an Israeli attack on an Iranian hospital on Monday.
Iran slams Israeli regime after media headquarters strike
Tehran has condemned the Israeli regime’s airstrike on the headquarters of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), calling it a deliberate attack on the truth and a war crime against journalists.
'Extreme cowardice'
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Israeli strike on the television headquarters in the capital, Tehran, demonstrates the growing desperation of the Israeli regime.
Araghchi told a TV program on the phone late on Tuesday that the Israeli strike on the television headquarters shows extreme cowardice of the regime.
When "Israel" fails on the battlefield, it targets civilian institutions that merely report the truth, he said.
According to the foreign minister, the Israelis had assumed that assassinating Iranian commanders or attacking key sites would weaken the Islamic Republic to the point of surrender, he said.
However, Araghchi stressed, they do not know the Iranian people well.
The top diplomat warned that Iran’s enemies should know that they are unable to advance their objectives by resorting to coercion.
'Wicked act of war crime'
On his part, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Tuesday that the attack highlights the Israeli regime's continued assault on civilian infrastructure and press institutions. “The Israeli regime is the biggest enemy of truth and is the No. 1 killer of journalists and media people,” Baghaei declared.
In his statement, the spokesperson strongly condemned the Israeli occupation’s targeting of Iranian media, calling it a “wicked act of war crime.” He emphasized that the Israeli strike on IRIB’s headquarters during a live broadcast demonstrates the regime's intent to silence critical reporting and undermine Iran's sovereign communication channels.
#BREAKING
— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) June 16, 2025
Esmaeil Baqaei, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recounted in his press conference the lives of some martyrs from Israel's attack on Iran. pic.twitter.com/2mbUvnrJuU
“The world is watching: targeting Iran’s news agency IRIB’s office during live broadcast is a wicked act of war crime,” Baghaei stated, showing the symbolic and strategic nature of the attack.
He also called on the United Nations Security Council to immediately intervene to stop what he described as systematic aggression against Iranian civilians and institutions. “The U.N.S.C. must act now to stop the genocidal aggressor from committing further atrocities against our people,” he said.
Iran’s latest condemnation comes amid a pattern of strikes by the Israeli regime on civilian and governmental targets across the country, further escalating "Israel's" war on Iran. The Foreign Ministry reiterated that such attacks not only violate international law but also represent an assault on journalistic freedom and global norms protecting media workers.
