Iran's state broadcaster IRIB said one of its buildings was hit on Monday in a "brutal aggression" by Israel, but added that live broadcasts continued without major disruption, reported Xinhua.
IRIB said the strike targeted its news network in an apparent effort "to silence the voice of the Iranian nation and the voice of truth." It said staff continued to provide coverage "at full capacity."
Video footage aired by the network showed the moment the attack occurred during a live broadcast. An anchor was seen delivering the news when an explosion was heard. She reported the blast and condemned the strike, but a second explosion and resulting smoke forced her to halt the broadcast.
The anchor later reappeared on camera, uninjured, according to IRIB's live report.
In a major escalation of regional tensions, Israel launched large-scale airstrikes early Friday, killing several military commanders, scientists, and dozens of civilians. Iran responded with retaliatory strikes later that day, and the exchange of fire continued into Monday.
Meanwhile, several missiles from Iran were fired at Israel on Monday evening, triggering air raid sirens in Haifa and dozens of other cities and communities across northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights, the Israeli military said.
Israel's Magen David Adom said there were no immediate reports of injuries.
The country's state-owned Kan TV news reported that three missiles were fired from Iran, one of which was intercepted by the military and the other two fell in open fields. Fragments of a missile fell in Safed, sparking fire.
The missile attack came as Iran and Israel were trading aerial attacks following Israel's surprise and deadly airstrikes on Friday on Iran.
Earlier, an Iranian missile struck Israel's largest oil refinery complex in the northern port city of Haifa early on Monday, killing three workers and sparking a fire at the facility, Israel's military censor said in a statement.
The missile hit the Bazan oil refinery before dawn, igniting a blaze that continued into Monday afternoon, according to local media. The refinery, located in Haifa Port, is a key supplier of fuels and petrochemicals for domestic and export markets.
The three victims, employees of the refinery, were initially reported missing after becoming trapped in a structure blocked by the fire, Israel's rescue service said.
It was the second Iranian missile strike on the site in as many days. Bazan Group said in a message to investors that Sunday's earlier attack caused localized damage to conduit piping, forcing a shutdown of some units, according to Israel-based financial daily Globes.
Earlier, Iran launched a new pre-dawn missile attack on Israel on Monday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens, Israeli officials said, as the four-day conflict triggered by an Israeli surprise assault intensified.
The missile barrage set off air raid sirens across Israel. Plumes of black smoke rose above Haifa, a major coastal city in northern Israel, and eyewitnesses reported multiple explosions in the north and central regions of the country.
Local authorities confirmed fatalities in several locations. Four people were killed when a missile struck a residential building in Petah Tikva, a city east of Tel Aviv, according to Mayor Rami Greenberg. He stated that hundreds of residents from the damaged building and three adjacent structures were evacuated. Photos from the scene showed multi-story buildings with significant blast damage and scattered rubble.
Three other fatalities were reported in Haifa. In Bnei Brak, also east of Tel Aviv, an 86-year-old man died when his apartment collapsed due to a shock wave from a nearby strike. At least 87 people received hospital treatment, including one woman in serious condition and five in moderate condition. The remaining 81 sustained light injuries.
One missile also fell near the United States consulate and embassy branch in Tel Aviv. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee stated on social media platform X that the missile's concussion caused minor damage, but no U.S. personnel were injured.
The Iranian missile salvos followed Israeli airstrikes on surface-to-surface missile sites in Tehran and central Iran. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Tehran residents would "pay the price — and soon" for the missile attacks against Israeli cities.
The Israeli Defense Ministry also reported that several Iranian drones were launched during the recent missile attack. Eight of these drones were intercepted by Israeli Navy missile boats in the first operational use of the Barak Magen air defense system, designed to intercept drones, cruise missiles, rockets, and anti-ship missiles.
The latest Iranian attacks come as Israeli and Iranian strikes continued into Monday, marking the fourth day of intense hostilities. Since the conflict began, 22 people have been killed in Israel, according to a tally by Israel's state-owned Kan TV.
Meanwhile, an Israeli drone has struck a pair of Iranian F-14 fighter jets at an airport in Tehran, the Israeli military said on Monday.
"These jets were intended, among other things, to intercept IAF (Israel Air Force) aircraft," the military said in a statement, adding that the Air Force also struck and thwarted an attempt to launch drones toward Israel.
Earlier in a statement, the Israeli military said that since the morning hours, Israeli warplanes have struck trucks containing weapons and surface-to-air missile launchers, advancing from western Iran toward Tehran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that the Israeli Air Force "controls the skies over Tehran," and that Israel was on the way to achieving two main objectives — eliminating the nuclear threat and eliminating the missile threat.
Meanwhile, Israel issued on Monday evacuation warning to a municipal district in Tehran, calling its residents to urgently leave ahead of Israeli airstrikes.
In a post on Persian and Arabic on social media platform X, Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli miliary, called residents of District C, located in the northeastern part of the city, to evacuate.
"In the coming hours, the Israeli army will operate in this area, as it has over recent days in other parts of Tehran, to strike military infrastructure belonging to the Iranian regime," Adraee said.
"Your presence in this area endangers your life," he said. "For your safety and security, we urge you to immediately evacuate."
Several important state institutions, government offices, and semi-governmental organizations, as well as communication and intelligence facilities are located in District C.
The Israeli military said in a statement that since the morning hours, Israeli warplanes have struck trucks containing weapons and surface-to-air missile launchers, advancing from western Iran toward Tehran.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz visited the Tel Nof airbase in the south of the country. During the visit, Netanyahu said that the Israeli Air Force "controls the skies over Tehran." He claimed: "We are on our way to achieving our two main objectives: eliminating the nuclear threat and eliminating the missile threat." Israel's military, meanwhile, announced on Monday it had carried out an airstrike on the Quds Force command center in Tehran, killing four senior Iranian military officials. Among those killed were Mohammad Kazemi, head of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps' (IRGC) Intelligence Organization, and his deputy Mohammad Hassan Mohaqiq. Mohsen Bagheri, head of the Quds Force Intelligence Department, and his deputy Abu al-Fadl Nikouei were also killed.
The Israeli military stated that the strike, conducted on Sunday, targeted a facility used by the Quds Force, the IRGC's elite unit responsible for overseas operations, including intelligence gathering, military support, and paramilitary activities.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency confirmed the deaths of Kazemi, Mohaqiq, and Bagheri, attributing the Sunday attack in Tehran to Israel.
The strike on the Quds Force command center was the latest in a series of Israeli attacks that began on Friday. Israel states these attacks are aimed at Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure.
Israel launched its heaviest air assault on Iran on Friday, striking nuclear facilities in Tehran and other sites. These attacks damaged military targets and residential buildings, killing at least 244 people and injuring 1,277, with more than 90 percent of them civilians, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.
The Iranian Health Ministry also confirmed that residential areas had been hit. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated that fighter jets destroyed about one-third of Iran's surface-to-surface missile launchers in a large-scale overnight operation. More than 50 aircraft were involved in these strikes, targeting over 120 missile launchers across multiple sites in central Iran, he added.
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Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
