Israel strikes state-run Iranian TV during live broadcast
- 2025-06-16 23:35:05

Israel struck Iran’s state-run television station Monday during a live broadcast, forcing a reporter to run off camera following an explosion, after Iran fired a new wave of missiles at Israel that killed at least eight people.
In other developments, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli strikes have set Iran’s nuclear program back a “very, very long time.” He added that Israel is not attempting to topple the Iranian government, but he said he would not be surprised if that happened as a result of the strikes.
“The regime is very weak,” Netanyahu told a news conference. He also said he is in daily touch with U.S. President Donald Trump. As he spoke, large numbers of explosions were heard in Tehran.
Israel warned hundreds of thousands of people in the middle of the Iranian capital to evacuate ahead of the strike against the TV station, which the military said provided a cover for Iranian military operations.
The warning came on the fourth day of the conflict, when the Israeli military claimed it had achieved air superiority above the Iranian capital and could fly over the city without facing major threats.
The warning affected up to 330,000 people in a part of central Tehran that includes the country’s state TV and police headquarters. The military has issued similar evacuation warnings for civilians in parts of Gaza and Lebanon ahead of strikes.
State-run television abruptly stopped a live broadcast after the station was hit, according to Iran’s state-run news agency.
While on the air, an Iranian state television reporter said the studio was filling with dust after “the sound of aggression against the homeland.” Suddenly, an explosion occurred, cutting the screen behind her as she hurried off camera.
The broadcast quickly switched to prerecorded programs. The station later said its building was hit by four bombs.
An anchor said on air that a few colleagues had been hurt, but their families should not be worried. The network said its live programs were transferred to another studio.
Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said his country’s forces had “achieved full aerial superiority over Tehran’s skies.”
The military said it destroyed more than 120 surface-to-surface missile launchers in central Iran, a third of Iran’s total, as well as two F-14 planes that Iran used to target Israeli aircraft and multiple launchers just before they launched ballistic missiles towards Israel.
Israeli military officials also said fighter jets had struck 10 command centers in Tehran belonging to Iran’s Quds Force, an elite arm of its Revolutionary Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran.