Tehran, June 16, (dpa/GNA) – Israel attacked Iranian state broadcaster IRIB’s premises in Tehran on Monday as the conflict in the Middle East continued to escalate, amid reports that the Iranian leadership is seeking to come to the negotiating table.
The regional rivals exchanged fire for a fourth day, with an Israeli military spokesman claiming Israel has gained “full air superiority in the skies over Tehran.”
Residents rushed to flee the Iranian capital as the Israeli military, issued an “urgent warning” to residents of a large district in the metropolis to evacuate the area.
While international leaders have called for de-escalation, US President Donald Trump said Iran is seeking back channels to the United States.
“They’d like to talk but they should have done that before,” he said on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada. “Iran is not winning this war.”
The comments came after a report from the Wall Street Journal newspaper that Tehran has contacted mediators in Arab states to signal it is ready for conversations on its controversial nuclear programme, as long as the US does not participate in attacks.
Iran is also said to have appealed to the government in Israel to limit the extent of the violence, with the newspaper quoting unnamed sources to suggest that Tehran believes Israel has no clear plan to end the war.
Israel attacks state broadcaster
Long-simmering tensions between Israel and Tehran have escalated into open warfare, with both sides launching missile strikes and hundreds of casualties reported in Iran.
On Friday, Israel fired a barrage of missiles on Iranian territory, including nuclear sites, defence installations, urban targets, and oil and gas infrastructure.
According to the military, the attacks have also killed several high-ranking officers and nuclear scientists.
Tehran called the strikes a declaration of war and retaliated, with several casualties recorded in Israel.
Defence Minister Israel Katz promised harsh retaliation against Tehran, following a fresh wave of deadly Iranian rocket attacks on Israeli cities overnight.
Iran had carried out “targeted shots at the civilian home front in Israel,” he said, adding that “residents of Tehran will pay the price – and soon.”
Hours later, a live IRIB broadcast in the Iranian capital was suddenly interrupted amid loud explosions, with debris appearing to fall in the studio, although the broadcaster resumed its transmission after a short pause.
The Israeli military attacked “the Iranian regime’s broadcasting centre responsible for propaganda and incitement,” Katz announced on X.
The IRIB confirmed deaths and injuries from the attack without offering details, amid reports from informed sources that dozens of technicians may have been killed in the strike.
The Israeli military said the airstrike was aimed at a “communications centre of the Iranian regime.”
“The building was being used by the Iranian armed forces under the guise of civilian activities,” the military added in a statement.
Panic was reported to be growing on Monday in Tehran as the Israeli military called on the residents of a 30-square-kilometre district in the city to “urgently” leave the area.
The densely populated area includes embassies, shopping centres and some of the most exclusive residential areas. It is home to about 300,000 people.
Tehran has 10 million residents, rising to 17 million in the greater metropolitan area.
Eyewitness reported that shops across the city were closed, cash machines were empty and the water supply was interrupted as a result of Israeli attacks.
Explosions were heard in the west of the metropolis, while there were also airstrikes in the east according to media reports.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would advise residents to leave the city.
During a visit to an Israeli airbase, Netanyahu said: “We are on the way to achieving our two goals: the elimination of the nuclear threat and the elimination of the missile threat.”
“If we control the airspace over Tehran, we will hit these targets – targets of the regime.”
Israel has accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, and several rounds of negotiations between Tehran and Washington on the Iranian nuclear programme have failed to produce an agreement in recent months.
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military said it had gained control of airspace over Tehran and destroyed a third of Iran’s surface-to-surface missile launch pads.
Military spokesperson Effie Defrin said more than 50 Israeli fighter jets and precision missiles were involved in the strikes overnight, which targeted and destroyed over 120 Iranian launch pads. Missile depots and production facilities were also hit, he said.
According to Defrin, Iran launched 65 missiles and dozens of drones at Israel overnight — apparently only about half of what Iran’s military had intended to fire.
“We thwarted a significant portion of the planned attack,” he said. “We can now say that we have achieved full air superiority in the skies over Tehran.”
He added that Israeli forces were continuing to target units actively attempting to launch missiles or engage Israeli aircraft.
Defrin reiterated that the operation’s central aim is to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. He said strikes would now expand further east into Iran.
“We still have difficult days ahead,” he said, “but we will get through them together and emerge victorious.”
According to the latest death toll from Iran on Sunday, at least 224 people have been killed since the Israeli attacks began last week.
Iranian media reported that an Israeli strike hit a hospital in the western city of Kermanshah, with a video from the Shargh newspaper showing a damaged intensive care unit and a blood-stained bed.
An Israeli army spokesman said the reports are under investigation.
Under international humanitarian law, hospitals are protected civilian sites and may only be targeted if clearly used for military purposes.
According to emergency services, eight people were killed in Israel and 92 injured in overnight attacks by Iran. The total number of fatalities in Israel since Friday now stands at 23.
Later on Monday, Israel reported a fresh barrage of Iranian missiles with sirens sounding across northern Israel.
“Defence systems are in use to intercept the threat,” said a statement from the Israeli military.
People in the affected areas were allowed to leave the shelters shortly afterwards. There were initially no reports of casualties. According to unconfirmed reports, a rocket impact is said to have occurred.
Meanwhile, media reports suggested that an important refinery in the Israeli city of Haifa was hit by an Iranian missile.
The ynet news portal reported that three people were killed in Sunday’s attack.
Emergency officials reported four strikes in the Tel Aviv area.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the embassy’s branch office in Tel Aviv sustained “minor damage” from “concussions” caused by a nearby impact, but no injuries were reported.
GNA