Israel accused of 'war crime' after bombing Iran's state TV studio live on air and warning it would 'disappear'
16 June 2025, 19:14 | Updated: 17 June 2025, 09:00
Tehran has accused Israel of committing a 'war crime' after it bombed Iran's state broadcaster IRIB, warning it would 'disappear'.
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Footage emerged from the Iranian state broadcaster showing a journalist being showered in debris after an Israeli strike hit the building during a live broadcast.
Iran called the attack a 'wicked act' and accused Israel of committing a 'war crime', calling on the United Nations to step in and take action.
Israel has struck the headquarters of Iran’s state TV.
— Dr. Maalouf (@realMaalouf) June 16, 2025
Just wow.
pic.twitter.com/8I3c2gwTA0
The Israeli bomb hit the building housing the TV studio as a presenter was speaking live on air, and footage shows her walking off screen as a loud explosion can be heard.
The mother-of-two can be heard saying the attack was the “aggressor's attack against the truth," as dust and debris filled the studio.
Shortly before the attack, Israel warned it would be attacking Tehran's District Three, which is where the broadcaster is located, and Defence Minister Israel Katz said: “The Iranian propaganda and incitement mouthpiece is on its way to disappear.”
Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, said Israel committed a "wicked act", and called it "the number one killer of journalists and media people."
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“The UNSC [United Nations Security Council] must act now to stop the genocidal aggressor from committing further atrocities against our people,” Baghaei wrote on X.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Israel has killed 178 journalists in Gaza since October 2023.
This makes it the deadliest conflict for journalists and media workers ever recorded.
The CPJ said it was "appalled" by the attack, claiming that the "impunity" with which Israel has killed Palestinian journalists had "emboldened it to target media elsewhere in the region."
"This bloodshed must end now," it added in a statement.
Iranian journalist Younes Shadlou recorded a video of himself standing outside the burning building in Tehran after the strike.
“I don’t know how many of my colleagues are still inside right now,” he said.
“We had been given evacuation warnings, but everyone stayed until the very last moment to show the true face of the Zionist regime to the world.”
The number of casualties remains unclear.
The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out the attack in a statement.
“This centre was used by the armed forces to promote military operations under civilian cover, while using its own means and assets,” it said, without providing evidence.
Shortly before the attack, Foreign Secretary David Lammy denied that the UK was involved in Israel's attacks on Iran.
"I want to be clear," Lammy told the Commons on Monday. "The UK was not involved in the strikes against Iran. This is a military action conducted by Israel."
Sir Keir Starmer urged Britons in Israel to register their presence in the country earlier in the day, amid reports a fresh wave of missiles fired by Iran are set to target Tel Aviv.
Recent days have seen aerial attacks on both nations intensify after Israel's surprise attack on Iran.
In a draft statement, world leaders have repeated calls for calm in the Middle East and supported Israel's right to defend itself - yet US President Donald Trump has not signed off on the draft.
G7 leaders from the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, alongside the European Union, will meet in the Canadian resort of Kananaskis on Tuesday.
European leaders also say that Iran cannot possess nuclear weapons, according to the draft statement.
The draft statement also commits to safeguarding market stability, including energy markets.
The conflict stepped up on Friday - when Israel attacked nuclear facilities and residential areas, accusing Iran of producing an atomic weapon.
Iran rained down missiles on Israel early this morning, triggering air raid sirens across the country.
At least 24 Israelis have been killed and dozens more injured when missiles made it through Israel’s defences and hit Tel Aviv and Haifa, among other towns.
Israel's attacks have killed more than 220 Iranians and left at least 1,200 injured since Friday.
During an earlier barrage of Iranian missiles on central Israel on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran will stop its strikes if Israel does the same.
But after a day of intensive Israeli aerial attacks that extended targets beyond military installations to hit oil refineries and government buildings, the Revolutionary Guard struck a hard line on Monday, vowing that further rounds of strikes would be "more forceful, severe, precise and destructive than previous ones".
Israel argues that its assault on Iran's top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists was necessary to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Iran has always insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful, and the US and others have assessed that Tehran has not pursued a nuclear weapon since 2003.
But Iran has enriched ever-larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have the capacity to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so.
