Israel strikes Iranian state TV mid-broadcast in fourth day of conflict; Trump leaves G7 earlier than planned
The Israeli military on Monday struck the headquarters of Iranian state television in northern Tehran midbroadcast, after issuing an evacuation warning for the area. In footage of the moment from the live broadcast, an explosion tears through the studio, sending a news presenter running for cover as debris falls into frame.
In a statement, the IDF said the building was being used to conceal military infrastructure. The claim has not been verified .
The strike came amid a fourth day of missile attacks. Casualties mounted on both sides and international pleas for diplomacy went unheeded. In Iran, at least 224 people have been killed since Israel began its military campaign Friday, Health Ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said. The Israeli prime minister’s office reported 24 deaths in total.
“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday evening. “What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.
“I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
Israeli officials have been pressing the U.S. to engage in the war by dropping so-called bunker-busting bombs, 30,000-pound weapons powerful enough to take out Iran’s deeply buried equipment at the major Fordo nuclear site, the New York Times reported. Only one weapon could destroy the facility, experts say: the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which requires a B-2 bomber for delivery. Israel owns neither the weapon nor the bomber.
Trump was set to leave Canada on Monday night after having dinner with the G7 leaders, his press secretary Karoline Leavitt, said. He had originally been slated to leave Canada on Tuesday evening.
But before leaving, Trump joined other leaders in signing a statement criticizing Iran, which he had previously refused to sign, but decided to do so after the draft language was adjusted, the New York Times reported.
Iran launched missiles at Israel early in the day Monday, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens more, according to the prime minister’s office. Earlier, the Israeli military said it was striking surface-to-surface missile sites in central Iran.
In one attack, Israel said, it hit command centers for Iran’s Quds Force, the expeditionary branch of the Revolutionary Guard that coordinates support for proxy forces across the region. The claim could not be immediately verified but would be the latest blow to Iran’s military prowess.
The overnight Iranian strikes that killed at least eight people in Israel, according to the IDF, raised the death toll reported by Israeli authorities since Friday to 24. IDF spokesman Effie Defrin said the eight fatalities were civilians and accused Iran of targeting “population centers.” Strike impacts were reported overnight in central Israel and in Haifa, a northern port city.
Israel targeted energy production facilities and manufacturing plants across Iran on Sunday, as Tehran residents described the heaviest wave of attacks yet. In Isfahan, a province and city in central Iran, the IDF said it targeted some 100 military sites. According to social media video and state media reports, strikes also hit Iranian airports and police stations.