ALBAWABA- In a dramatic and unprecedented escalation, the Israeli Air Force launched a direct strike on the headquarters of Iranian state radio and television in Tehran.
The Israeli strike on Iran’s state TV headquarters occurred while a live news broadcast was underway.
An Iranian female anchor abruptly stopped reading the news and left the studio moments before rubble began falling inside.
In a statement, Iranian state TV accused "the Zionist enemy" of attempting to silence the voice of the Iranian people by targeting the national broadcaster.
For the first time, Israel warned civilians in the Iranian capital, in Persian and Arabic, to evacuate the targeted area before the strike, marking a significant shift in tactics as hostilities with Iran intensify into a fourth day.
On his part, U.S. President Donald Trump commented on the escalation, stating, “Iran is not winning this war and must talk to us before it's too late.” He affirmed U.S. support for Israel, saying, “Israel is doing very well, and we have provided it with a lot of support.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the Israeli Air Force now controls sections of Iranian airspace and announced plans to neutralize Iran’s missile capabilities.
The bombing of civilian infrastructure, including Tehran's Farabi Hospital and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signals a dangerous widening of the conflict.
Meanwhile, a U.S. official told Al Jazeera that Washington is relocating refueling aircraft to the region. While some claim this move supports upcoming NATO exercises in Finland, others suspect it signals U.S. involvement in a broader mission, possibly to assist Israel in targeting Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, given Israel's limited capacity to do so alone.
Analysts warn that the Israeli strategy of targeting civilian infrastructure not only violates international norms but risks igniting a full-scale regional war with consequences far beyond Iran.
