Armed Revolutionary Guard forces have taken control of Iran’s state broadcaster compound in Tehran following an Israeli airstrike that disrupted operations and heightened fears among employees, sources told Iran International on Wednesday.
Access to the state-run broadcaster’s complex, located in northern Tehran’s Jam-e-Jam area, is now tightly restricted, with only cleared personnel allowed to enter.
Armed Revolutionary Guard forces have taken control of Iran’s state broadcaster compound in Tehran following an Israeli airstrike on Monday that disrupted operations and heightened fears among employees, sources told Iran International on Wednesday.
Access to the state-run broadcaster’s complex, located in northern Tehran’s Jam-e-Jam area, is now tightly restricted, with only cleared personnel allowed to enter.
Witnesses report heightened security checks and a significant armed presence. The compound has effectively turned into a restricted zone, one staff member said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Sources told Iran International that some senior editorial staff and reporters left the building hours before the strike after receiving warning signals. Others, citing safety concerns, have refused to return.
“There is deep anxiety among middle managers and staff — not only about their security but also their livelihoods,” said one source.
The strike on Monday — part of a wider escalation between Israel and Iran — caused technical disruptions inside the broadcaster as dust and smoke engulfed the studio of the live broadcast, with videos showing fire coming from the glass building.
The extent of physical damage remains unclear, but sources say programming has been affected and internal operations significantly curtailed.
Iranian officials have condemned the attack as a violation of international law. “Even during wartime, media facilities are protected under international humanitarian rules,” one senior official told local press, referring to Article 79 of Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions, which classifies journalists as civilians so long as they do not engage in hostilities.
IRIB President Peyman Jebelli confirmed that the IRINN studio (IRIB’s 24-hour news network) had been “destroyed,” but vowed that programming would gradually resume.
“Despite the damage, our core broadcasts — including the 20:30 news bulletin — will return,” Jebelli said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday. He himself was reportedly present at the time of the attack but was unharmed.
The targeted structure, known as the Glass Building, is an iconic symbol of Iranian modernist architecture, designed by famed architect Abdol-Aziz Farmanfarmaian in the 1960s. It housed newsrooms and executive offices.
The fourth floor, believed to have suffered the most damage, was home to the news editorial board and the political bureau.
While official casualty figures have not been confirmed, local media reported the deaths of three people, including senior news editor Nima Rajabpour and administrative staff member Masoumeh Azimi.
TV anchor Sahar Emami was engulfed in smoke and debris as she was speaking live on air, with loud booms rocking the studio.
Amid the strike, she told viewers: “The sound you just heard is the sound of the aggressor attacking our homeland, the sound of the aggressor seeking to stifle rightfulness and truth."
The cameras continued to roll before she was forced to abandon the studio.
After the quietest night since Iran began its retaliatory attacks on Israel on Friday, the former head of the Iranian strategic desk in Israeli Defense Intelligence, a branch of the Israeli military, told Iran International that Tehran’s missile stocks are running low.
Danny Citrinowicz, who now heads the Iran and Shia axis program at the Institute of National Security Studies, said that at the beginning of the war, intelligence estimates showed Iran had around 2,000 missiles.
Read more here.
Iran International has learned that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has handed over key powers to the Supreme Council of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), amid a five-day absence from public view.
The move follows reports that Khamenei has been relocated to an underground bunker in Lavizan, northeast Tehran, along with close family members, including his son Mojtaba.
US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
While Iran has not officially declared a state of war, judiciary officials have acknowledged that the country is operating under de facto emergency conditions. The delegation of authority is seen as a precaution to ensure continuity of command if Khamenei is killed.
Israel's military campaign against Iran is giving its people a chance to topple the Islamic Republic, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Iran International, adding that the ruling system's days were numbered.
"A light has been lit—carry it to freedom,” Netanyahu told Iran International's anchor Pouria Zeraati on Monday.
“This is the time,” he said. “Your hour of freedom is near—it’s happening now.”
Israel's military campaign against Iran is giving its people a chance to topple the Islamic Republic, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Iran International, adding that the ruling system's days were numbered.
"A light has been lit—carry it to freedom,” Netanyahu told Iran International's anchor Pouria Zeraati on Monday.
“This is the time,” he said. “Your hour of freedom is near—it’s happening now.”
Netanyahu cast the Islamic Republic as an enduring threat to Israel through its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
“The tyrants of Tehran basically planned two weapons of mass death to exterminate Israel,” he said. “One is to rush forward with their nuclear program to develop atomic bombs to destroy Israel."
"Second, they've programmed to build a vast missile, ballistic missile arsenal … Each missile carrying a one-ton payload, just slamming into our cities, killing our women, our children. They were going to build 20,000 of these,” he added.
Netanyahu framed Israel’s ongoing campaign as both a defensive war and an opportunity for the leadership in Tehran to be overthrown.
“This is evil against good, and it's time for good people to stand up with the good, the good people of Iran, and good people everywhere against this madness foisted on all of us by this radical tyranny. It's about to end,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli attacks since Friday have killed 322 people and wounded 684, according to human rights group HRANA.
'They fear us, they fear you'
The Israeli premier suggested that the Islamic Republic’s military vulnerability could also hasten its political collapse.
“These dictators in Iran, sure they fear us—but they fear you, the people of Iran, even more,” he said. “They understand that 80 percent of Iranians despise them."
Netanyahu said Israel’s precision targeting had already knocked out key parts of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and missile production capabilities.
“(We) knocked out their chief nuclear team, their nuclear sites… we're knocking out their ballistic missile production,” he said. “We still have a way to go, but we’ll finish it.”
Drawing a contrast between Israel’s military conduct and Iran’s, Netanyahu said, “You can see that by the warnings that we are sending. The forewarnings that we're sending to the people of Tehran and elsewhere.
"It is necessary in order to have the people leave the zone of conflict. That's the whole difference between a terrorist regime that deliberately targets civilians in a democracy like Israel.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier on the day that while Israel does not aim to harm civilians, residents of Tehran must evacuate areas near government and military sites that could be targeted.
An illustrated depiction of the Tehran evacuation zone published by the Israeli military encompassed an area around 30 square kilometers, an area home to several hundred thousand people.
Netanyahu said the people of Iran had suffered under the Islamic Republic and mentioned a young woman whose death in morality police custody sparked nationwide protests in 2022.
“They've impoverished you. They've given you misery. They've given you death. They've given you terror. They shoot down your women, leaving this brave, unbelievable woman, Mahsa Amini, to bleed on the sidewalk for not covering her hair. I mean, this is an outrageous radical fanatic regime, and the time has come to defang them.”
Netanyahu said Iran could be made "great again" and that Iran's people were its future.
“I believe in you. I respect you. I admire you. I know your achievements. I know your potential. I know that Iran can be great again. It was a great civilization, and these theological thuggery that has kidnapped your country, will not stand for long, and you are the future, not them.”
