Live Broadcast Shattered By Airstrike As Iranian Anchor Runs For Safety

Iranian leaders have strongly condemned Israel’s bombing of their national TV station, calling it a 'war crime'. The terrifying moment was caught live on air when an Israeli airstrike suddenly interrupted the broadcast. The studio lights instantly shut off, and the anchor had to run for safety right in the middle of her report.

This escalation comes after Israel launched a major strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities on Friday, June 13. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later described the strikes as a “targeted military operation” meant to protect Israel from what he called an existential threat posed by Iran.

The conflict has intensified amid ongoing claims that Iran is working to build a nuclear weapon. The country has been accused of mining uranium and enriching it to levels far beyond what's needed for peaceful energy purposes, reaching a concerning 60 percent purity.

To explain, natural uranium only contains about 0.7 percent of uranium-235, the isotope needed for nuclear energy. On its own, that’s not enough to be used in a reactor. So it must be enriched—usually up to 3.5 percent—by removing most of the uranium-238 isotope.

However, Iran has been enriching uranium all the way to 60 percent and stockpiling large quantities of it. That level gets dangerously close to weapons-grade material, which is typically considered to be around 90 percent enriched. In fact, 60 percent represents nearly 90 percent of the effort needed to reach that weapons-grade level.

Most global powers agree that it would be highly unsafe for Iran to possess a nuclear weapon. They’ve been trying to negotiate a deal to prevent that from happening. Former President Donald Trump has recently been vocal again about pushing Iran to agree to such a deal.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting building was struck in an Israeli attack on June 16, cutting live coverage immediately ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

Now, let’s talk about what led to this particular moment making headlines—the shocking interruption of a live news broadcast on the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN) on June 16.

In the middle of the broadcast, the news anchor had to stop reporting and flee the studio. The panic unfolded as an Israeli airstrike hit the building located in Tehran, shortly after Israeli authorities had warned civilians to evacuate the city.

The dramatic moment was captured on camera, and here’s a look at how it all played out:

According to the BBC, Sahar Emami was delivering the news in Farsi when she said: "What you noticed is the sound of a clear aggression by the Zionist regime on IRIB (Iran Republic of Iran Broadcasting)."

Reports coming out of Tehran revealed that the bombing claimed the life of Masoumeh Azimi, a staff member at the TV station. The Israeli military later confirmed that it had intentionally targeted what it described as a “communications center of the Iranian regime.”

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baqai, quickly responded to the attack, calling it a “wicked act” and labelling it as a “war crime.”

Since the first wave of attacks on Friday, both Iran and Israel have continued to fire airstrikes back and forth. Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump made it clear that the United States is not involved in the escalation.

He took to Truth Social to make a statement: "Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. 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!"