Iran-Israel tension LIVE: Iran state TV building hit in Israeli attack
Israeli military had earlier issued an evacuation warning affecting up to 330,000 people
An Iranian state television reporter had to stop a live broadcast late Monday night (June 16) when an explosion occurred an hour after Israel issued a warning to evacuate the area of Tehran where the TV studios are located.
The reporter for the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network said the studio was filling with dust after “the sound of aggression against the homeland, the sound of aggression against truth and righteousness.” Anchor Sahar Emami rushed off-camera as the screen behind her cut out.
The broadcast quickly switched to pre-recorded programmes. Soon, Emami came back live from another studio and was seen speaking with another anchor. She said that “bodies of reporters” were at the site of the initial broadcast, and images showed smoke and flames in the sky.
Israel's defence minister took credit for the attack.
“The Iranian regime's propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority was attacked by the IDF after a widespread evacuation of the area's residents,” Israel Katz said in a statement. “We will strike the Iranian dictator everywhere.”
Evacuation warning given
An hour earlier, the Israeli military had issued an evacuation warning affecting up to 330,000 people in a part of central Tehran that includes the country's state TV and police headquarters, as well as three large hospitals. The IDF has issued similar evacuation warnings for civilians in parts of Gaza and Lebanon ahead of strikes.
The warning came on the fourth day of the conflict, when the Israeli military claimed it had achieved air superiority above the Iranian capital and could fly over the city without facing major threats.
Read live updates here.
Live Updates
- 16 Jun 2025 7:30 PM IST
There is risk of radiological, chemical contamination inside Iran's main nuclear site: IAEA chief
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday that there is a possibility of both radiological and chemical contamination within Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz following Israeli strikes, although radiation levels outside the complex are presently normal.
IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi said that the radiation poses a significant danger if uranium is inhaled or ingested. He added that the risk can be effectively managed with appropriate protective measures, such as using respiratory protection devices while inside the facilities.
“The level of radioactivity outside the Natanz site has remained unchanged and at normal levels, indicating no external radiological impact to the population or the environment from this event,” Grossi said.
Grossi was addressing an urgent session of the UN nuclear watchdog board in Vienna that was convened at the request of Russia to discuss Israeli attacks against Iranian nuclear facilities. He said there apparently was no additional damage at Natanz and the Isfahan nuclear research site since Saturday.
He said that the main concern inside the Natanz facility is the chemical toxicity of a gas called uranium hexafluoride, which is the result of fluorine mixed with the uranium during enrichment. It is extremely volatile, will quickly corrode, can burn the skin and is especially deadly if inhaled, experts say.
“Amid theses challenging and complex circumstances, it is crucial that the IAEA receives timely and regular technical information about the facilities and their respective sites,” Grossi said. AP
- 16 Jun 2025 7:24 PM IST
Israeli military issues evacuation warning for section of Tehran residents ahead of strikes
The Israeli military has warned residents in part of Iran's capital to evacuate ahead of Israeli strikes.
Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday, killing at least five people, while Israel claimed it had achieved air superiority over Tehran and could fly over the Iranian capital without facing major threats.
On the fourth day of the conflict, the Israeli military said it had destroyed more than 120 surface-to-surface missile launchers in central Iran, a third of Iran's total.
It also said fighter jets had struck 10 command centres in Tehran belonging to Iran's Quds Force, an elite arm of its Revolutionary Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran. AP
- 16 Jun 2025 6:56 PM IST
Iran-Israel war: Cyprus says Portugal, Slovakia asked for help with evacuations
Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos says Portugal and Slovakia will be bringing their citizens from the area of the Israeli-Iran conflict home through Cyprus.
The island nation is the nearest European Union country to Israel, lying just 268 km across the Mediterranean Sea.
Cyprus has acted as a transfer point for evacuees following the Oct 7 attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas that led to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Moscow still not announcing plans to evacuate Russians from Israel and Iran The Kremlin says Russia is ready to do “everything necessary” to resolve the “root causes” of the “dangerous escalation of tensions” between Iran and Israel.
Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters he was unaware if a decision had been made by Moscow to organize a full evacuation of its citizens from Israel and Iran.
“All agencies are monitoring the situation with the utmost care,” Peskov said.
Poland will evacuate around 200 of its citizens stranded in Israel The evacuations will be overland to neighbouring Jordan and will take place within the next two days, according to a deputy foreign minister, Henryka Moscicka-Dendys.
She says there will be a bus convoy to Amman, the Jordanian capital, where evacuees — tourists and short-term visitors — will board a government plane to return home.
“Poland will be the first country to organise such an evacuation,” Moscicka-Dendys said, emphasising the move is precautionary and aims to avoid escalating tensions. No military escort is planned. PTI
- 16 Jun 2025 5:27 PM IST
Iran-Israel tension: Govt will hold talks with stakeholders to asses impact on trade
The government is closely monitoring the situation arising from the Iran-Israel conflict, and a meeting with shipping lines, container firms, and other stakeholders will be held this week to assess the impact on the country's overseas trade and address any issue, a top official said on Monday.
Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the impact of the war on India's trade will depend on how the situation unfolds over a period of time.
"We are watching the situation. We are also calling a meeting (this week) of all the shipping lines, the container organisations and the concerned departments, and stakeholders to understand from them that what are the kind of issues they are facing and how we can sort it out," he told reporters here.
Exporters have stated that the war, if escalated further, would impact world trade and push both air and sea freight rates. PTI
They have expressed apprehensions that the conflict is expected to impact movement of merchant ships from the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea.
Nearly two-thirds of India's crude oil and half of its LNG imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has now threatened to close.
This narrow waterway, only 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, handles nearly a fifth of global oil trade and is indispensable to India, which depends on imports for over 80 per cent of its energy needs.
According to think tank GTRI, any closure or military disruption in the Strait of Hormuz would sharply increase oil prices, shipping costs, and insurance premiums, triggering inflation, pressuring the rupee, and complicating India's fiscal management.
- 16 Jun 2025 4:25 PM IST
Iran-Israel tension: Azerbaijan helping in evacuating foreign nationals from Iran
Azerbaijani media reports said that following the evacuation of citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, citizens of Portugal, the Philippines, Finland and some other countries have crossed the Astara border checkpoint and headed to the airport in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizade said 41 of its citizens, including family members of its diplomats in Iran, also have returned to Azerbaijan, said. He added that Azerbaijan's diplomatic missions in Iran have continued to operate as usual. PTI
