Israeli Strike Hits Iranian State Media Headquarters in Tehran, Killing and Injuring Staff

Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC) condemned Monday’s Israeli airstrike on the headquarters of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) in Tehran, which left several employees dead or injured.

The group said the bombing of a state-run media facility was an unlawful act that directly targeted press infrastructure.

The organization warned that such incidents risk expanding what it called Israel’s ongoing war on journalism. It pointed to the large-scale destruction of media offices and the deaths of hundreds of journalists in Gaza over the past months.

“This is not the first time Israeli forces have targeted journalists or media buildings,” WJWC said. “But striking a national broadcaster in another country raises the level of danger significantly, and sends a message that no media institution is off-limits. 

WJWC warned against the normalization of such violations and said the assault in Tehran should not be viewed in isolation. It recalled that Israel has already been responsible for the deaths of more than 225 journalists in Gaza and the destruction of over 112 media offices since October 2023.

The organization stated that the targeting of Iran’s national broadcaster signaled an alarming expansion of Israel’s war on the press. They emphasized that Israel's dark record of press targeting demanded immediate action from the international community to halt the massacre of press freedom and prevent its spread, particularly to Iran. They also noted this was a violation of the laws of war and an attempt to export the repression of journalism beyond Palestine.

WJWC noted that international humanitarian law prohibits attacks on civilian objects, including media facilities, unless they are being used directly in military operations. The organization cited Article 48 of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, which obliges parties to a conflict to distinguish between civilian and military targets. Article 52 further states that civilian objects are not to be attacked unless they make an effective contribution to military action.

“Disseminating news, including viewpoints critical of a party to the conflict, does not justify treating media institutions as military targets,” the statement said. “The strike on the IRIB building is a clear violation of these principles and constitutes a war crime.”

Women Journalists Without Chains has called for the following steps:

·         An urgent international investigation into the airstrike on the IRIB headquarters, to ensure that those responsible are held accountable;

·         The dispatch of an independent fact-finding mission to examine attacks on journalists and media outlets in both Iran and Gaza;

·         Immediate and enforceable measures by the United Nations and the Security Council to protect journalists during armed conflict;

·         Public statements and coordinated action by international media organizations to condemn the targeting of journalists and pressure Israeli authorities to halt such attacks.

The organization said efforts to erase evidence of crimes against journalists must be stopped through independent verification and international oversight. It also urged global actors to recognize the targeting of the media as part of a broader campaign against freedom of information and civilian protections in conflict.