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An Iranian state television reporter had to stop a live broadcast on Monday when an explosion occurred an hour after Israel issued a warning to evacuate the area of Tehran where the TV studios are located.
Smoke was seen rising from at least three sites in the Iranian capital.
The reporter for the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network said the studio was filling with dust after “the sound of aggression against the homeland, the sound of aggression against truth and righteousness.”
Anchor Sahar Emami rushed off-camera as the screen behind her cut out and people were heard saying “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for God is great.
The broadcast quickly switched to pre-recorded programmes. Later, state TV aired live video of the building on fire.
Soon, Emami came back live from another studio and was seen speaking with another anchor. She said that “bodies of reporters” were at the site of the initial broadcast, and images showed smoke and flames in the sky.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz took credit for the attack as he called it a strike on the “propaganda broadcast authority.”
“The Iranian regime’s propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority was attacked by the IDF after a widespread evacuation of the area’s residents. We will strike the Iranian dictator everywhere,” he said in a statement.
An hour earlier, the Israeli military had issued an evacuation warning affecting up to 330,000 people in a part of central Tehran that includes the country’s state TV and police headquarters, as well as three major hospitals.
In response to the attack, Iran also issued evacuation warnings for Israeli news channels, Iranian state TV reported.
The attack came on the fourth day of the escalating conflict, as the IDF claimed it had achieved air superiority above the Iranian capital and could fly over the city without facing major threats.
