The broadcast didn’t cut to commercial. It cut to chaos. On Monday, during a live segment on Iran’s Khabar TV, the studio lights flickered, the screen shook, and the anchor vanished from frame. Seconds later, the feed went black. Israel had just struck the headquarters of Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB, while it was live on air.
The building in Tehran’s District 3 took a hard impact. Debris filled the studio. Staff were killed. The anchorwoman, mid-sentence, bolted as the blast cracked through the set. The footage is raw. The message is louder.
🚨🇮🇷Breaking: Iran state TV under attack.
I guess news channels are now considered "legitimate military targets."
Good to know.
Worth keeping for future reference. 👌🏽 pic.twitter.com/4CmsmQAGJH
— Thutmose III 𓂀𓋹𓆃 (@shafie_sherif) June 16, 2025
⚡️The stream resumes, and the host says, “Hit us again!”
NOW: Iran's state TV IRIB building in Tehran on fire following Israeli airstrike. https://t.co/bctaqMZ7T2 pic.twitter.com/t0Zhd3TAVo
— The World War (@TheWorldWar12) June 16, 2025
BREAKING: Iran State TV IRIB's headquarters in Tehran hit by Israeli airstrike pic.twitter.com/XPWpBmgJlm
— 🇦🇪 HGS (@Sajwani) June 16, 2025
BREAKING: Aftermath of the Israeli attack on Iran's state TV building. pic.twitter.com/LKFLZnv6re
— waddey (ވައްޑެ) 🎈 (@WaddeyAli) June 16, 2025
Israel warned it was coming. Then it came.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier that day, “Iran’s propaganda and incitement megaphone is about to disappear.” The Israeli military issued evacuation orders for the district hours before the strike. The broadcaster stayed. The cameras rolled. The strike landed.
IRIB’s response was defiant. Within minutes, they resumed transmission from a backup location. A ticker scrolled across the screen calling the attack a “brutal violation” and accusing Israel of trying to “silence the voice of truth.” But the damage was done. The studio is in ruins. The signal may be back, but the shock hasn’t faded.
This is the fourth day of open war. Iran has launched waves of missiles into Israeli cities. Israel has responded with deep strikes into Tehran. Oil depots. Military command centers. Now media infrastructure. The death toll in Iran has passed 220. Over 1,000 are wounded. In Israel, 24 are dead. Hundreds more are injured. The war is no longer shadowed. It’s televised.
The U.S. Embassy branch in Tel Aviv was also rattled by a nearby Iranian missile strike. Windows cracked. Staff sheltered in place. No injuries reported. But the message was clear. No one is off limits. Not even American soil abroad.
The strike on IRIB wasn’t just about silencing a signal. It was about breaking a symbol. State TV in Iran isn’t just news. It’s narrative. It’s control. It’s the regime’s voice. And now that voice is coughing through dust and rubble.
The footage is already viral. The anchor’s panic. The screen going black. The sudden switch to pre-recorded programming.
Sources
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/16/iran-state-tv-bombed-israel-strike