Surreal Footage Captures Moment Iran’s State News Channel Goes Dark After Israel Bombs Broadcaster’s Headquarters
The television network, which is tightly controlled by Iran’s supreme leader, ‘was used by the armed forces to advance military operations under civilian cover, using its own means and assets,’ Israel says.
Israel’s bombing of Iran’s state television headquarters in Tehran on Monday was caught on camera in a dramatic, real-time broadcast.
The surreal footage circulating on social media shows a female anchor energetically speaking on Iran’s main state news channel, IRINN, until a missile is heard striking the studio, prompting the woman to take cover amid a cascade of smoke and rubble. A voice can be heard in the background calling out “Allahu Akbar” before the broadcast goes dark.
Videos and images were later released showing the aftermath of the Israeli airstrike, which left Iran’s radio and television building in flames, billowing smoke, with its windows completely blown out. The Israeli military soon took responsibility for the bombing, stating, “This center was used by the armed forces to advance military operations under civilian cover, using its own means and assets.”
IRINN is just one of the Iranian news channels controlled by the state’s national broadcaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, which holds a monopoly over the country’s domestic radio and television channels. The head of the media organization is appointed directly by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who exerts tight control over the news channels.
Israel’s minister of defense, Israel Katz, alluded to the attack beforehand, stating earlier on Monday, “The mouthpiece of Iranian propaganda and incitement is on its way to disappearing. The evacuation of residents of the area is beginning.” The Israel Defense Forces also issued warnings to Iranian civilians to evacuate areas of Tehran’s District Three, where the broadcaster’s office is situated.
The attack was celebrated by Iranian critics of the regime, including an Iranian-American journalist and women’s rights advocate, Masih Alinejad, who called the state broadcasting network “a key symbol of regime propaganda.”
“Wow, What can I say…,” Ms. Alinejad shared online. “They used that same TV to bring my own family on air to disown me, publicly. They broadcast lies that I was raped by three men after I launched a campaign against forced hijab. I’ve watched them drag dozens of women and men onto that screen, forcing false confessions under pressure and torture.”
Ms. Alinejad, who fled to New York from Iran in 2009 after she was targeted for protesting Iran’s presidential election, has managed to survive several regime-backed assassination plots in America. She shared in her post that she is and “always will be” worried for the people of Iran, but added that the conflict with Israel “was never the people’s war. This is Khamenei’s war.”
Soon after the attack, Iran’s state TV resumed its live coverage and issued a defiant statement: “The Zionist regime, the enemy of the Iranian nation, minutes ago conducted a military operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran news network,” a senior official at the broadcasting service, Hassan Abedini, said. He added that 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.”
Monday’s bombing marks the latest escalation in the Iranian-Israeli conflict. Last Friday, Israel launched a targeted attack on Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure in an effort to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated by sending hundreds of ballistic missiles into civilian areas in central Israel. Israel’s air force has been able to intercept and shoot down an estimated 80 percent to 90 percent of the missiles, though at least 24 Israelis have died so far in the onslaught.
Since the onset of the attack, Israeli officials have maintained that the military campaign is not against the citizens of Iran. Prime Minister Netanyahu, in his first address after Friday’s attack, issued a “message” to “the brave people of Iran,” in which he proclaimed: “Our fight is not with you. Our fight is with the brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years.” He added that “I believe that the day of your liberation is near. When that happens, the great friendship between our two ancient peoples will flourish once again.”
