Iran anchor was live on TV when the bombs hit. She fled as dust and debris fell
'The world is watching: targeting Iran's news agency #IRIB's office during live broadcast is a wicked act of war crime,' Baqaei wrote on X.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the attack on the Iranian state broadcaster was the 'height of cowardice and a sign of desperation'.
Videos circulating on social media show that the IRINN building, known as 'the glass building,' was still burning. There has been no official report on casualties from the incident.
An anchor said on air that a few colleagues had been injured, but that their families should not be worried.
Hassan Abedini, deputy director of Iran's state broadcaster, said some employees were injured in the Israeli strike, without specifying a number, the New York Times reported.
Elham Abedini, another Iranian state television anchor, captured the wreckage in an Instagram livestream. Her video showed chaos as people ran and shouted amid debris. 'They are in the glass building; they are all there,' she can be heard telling a guard in uniform, referring to the channel's employees.
The network said its live programs had been transferred to another studio, which resembles that of radio studios.
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.
Iran, meanwhile, announced it had launched some 100 missiles and vowed further retaliation for sweeping attacks on its military and nuclear infrastructure that have killed at least 224 people in the country since Friday.
So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel and more than 500 injured, Israeli officials said, after Iran launched more than 370 missiles and hundreds of drones.
On Moday, the White House announced that US President Donald Trump was abruptly leaving the G7 – a day early – as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies. Earlier, he declared that Tehran should be evacuated 'immediately'.
Iran, meanwhile, has asked its neighbours in the Middle East to pressure Trump into pushing Israel to sign an immediate ceasefire. In return, Tehran would show flexibility in nuclear negotiations.
Meanwhile, the US military has moved a large number of refueling aircraft to Europe to provide options to Trump, two U.S. officials told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials also said the US aircraft carrier Nimitz was heading to the Middle East, in what one of them said was a pre-planned deployment. The Nimitz can hold 5000 personnel and more than 60 aircraft, including fighter jets.
Taken together, the deployments suggest the US is greatly strengthening its air power for potentially sustained operations as Iran and Israel trade blows in unprecedented open warfare.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a post on X late on Monday, said he had ordered the deployment of additional defensive capabilities to the Middle East, but did not offer specifics.
'Protecting U.S. forces is our top priority and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region,' Hegseth said in a post on social media platform X.
AirNav systems, a flight tracking website, said more than 31 U.S. Air Force refueling aircraft – primarily KC-135s and KC-46s – left the US on Sunday, heading east. It said the US military flights had landed in Europe, including at Ramstein air base in Germany and airports in the United Kingdom, Estonia, and Greece.
The US officials declined to comment on the number of aircraft. The Pentagon referred Reuters to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
'The sudden eastward deployment of over two dozen US Air Force tankers is not business as usual. It's a clear signal of strategic readiness,' said Eric Schouten at Dyami Security Intelligence.
'Whether it's about supporting Israel, preparing for long-range operations, logistics is key, this move shows the US is positioning itself for rapid escalation if tensions with Iran spill over.'
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was 'appalled by Israel's bombing of Iran's state TV channel while live on air.'
'Israel's killing, with impunity, of almost 200 journalists in Gaza has emboldened it to target media elsewhere in the region,' Sara Qudah, the Middle East representative for CPJ, said in a statement.
According to the U.N. and CPJ records, Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 173 journalists and media workers since October 2023.
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West Australian
21 minutes ago
- West Australian
Donald Trump's Iran choice: Last-chance diplomacy or a bunker-busting bomb, the Massive Ordnance Penetrator
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump is weighing a critical decision in the days-old war between Israel and Iran: whether to enter the fray by helping Israel destroy the deeply buried nuclear enrichment facility at Fordo, which only America's biggest 'bunker buster,' dropped by US B-2 bombers, can reach. If he decides to go ahead, the United States will become a direct participant in a new conflict in the Middle East, taking on Iran in exactly the kind of war Mr Trump has sworn, in two campaigns, he would avoid. Iranian officials have warned that US participation in an attack on its facilities will imperil any remaining chance of the nuclear disarmament deal that Mr Trump insists he is still interested in pursuing. Mr Trump has encouraged Vice President JD Vance and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to offer to meet the Iranians this week, according to a US official. The offer may be well received, and Mr Trump said Monday that 'I think Iran basically is at the negotiating table, they want to make a deal.' The urgency appeared to be rising. The White House announced late Monday that Mr Trump was leaving the Group of 7 summit early because of the situation in the Middle East. 'As soon as I leave here, we're going to be doing something,' Mr Trump said. 'But I have to leave here.' What he intended to do remained unclear. If Mr Vance and Mr Witkoff did meet with the Iranians, officials say, the likely Iranian interlocutor would be the country's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who played a key role in the 2015 nuclear deal with the Obama Administration and knows every element of Iran's sprawling nuclear complex. Mr Araghchi, who has been Mr Witkoff's counterpart in recent negotiations, signalled his openness to a deal Monday, saying in a statement, 'If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential.' 'It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu,' he said, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister. 'That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.' But if that diplomatic effort fizzles, or the Iranians remain unwilling to give in to Mr Trump's central demand that they must ultimately end all uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, the President will still have the option of ordering that Fordo and other nuclear facilities be destroyed. There is only one weapon for the job, experts contend. It is called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or the GBU-57, and it weighs so much — 30,000 pounds — that it can be lifted only by a B-2 bomber. Israel does not own either the weapon or the bomber needed to get it aloft and over a target. If Mr Trump holds back, it could well mean that Israel's main objective in the war is never completed. 'Fordo has always been the crux of this thing,' said Brett McGurk, who worked on Middle East issues for four successive US presidents, from George W. Bush to Joe Biden. 'If this ends with Fordo still enriching, then it's not a strategic gain.' That has been true for a long time, and over the past two years the US military has refined the operation, under close White House scrutiny. The exercises led to the conclusion that one bomb would not solve the problem; any attack on Fordo would have to come in waves, with B-2s releasing one bomb after another down the same hole. And the operation would have to be executed by an American pilot and crew. This was all in the world of war planning until the opening salvos Friday morning in Tehran, Iran's capital, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes, declaring that Israel had discovered an 'imminent' threat that required 'preemptive action.' New intelligence, he suggested without describing the details, indicated that Iran was on the cusp of turning its fuel stockpile into weapons. US intelligence officials who have followed the Iranian program for years agree that Iranian scientists and nuclear specialists have been working to shorten the time it would take to manufacture a nuclear bomb, but they saw no huge breakthroughs. Yet they agree with Mr McGurk and other experts on one point: If the Fordo facility survives the conflict, Iran will retain the key equipment it needs to stay on a pathway to the bomb, even if it would first have to rebuild much of the nuclear infrastructure that Israel has left in ruins over four days of precision bombing. There may be other alternatives to bombing it, though they are hardly a sure thing. If the power to Fordo gets cut, by saboteurs or bombing, it could damage or destroy the centrifuges that spin at supersonic speeds. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Monday that this might have happened at the country's other major uranium enrichment centre, Natanz. Israel took out the power supplies to the plant Friday, and Mr Grossi said that the disruption probably sent them spinning out of control. Mr Trump rarely talks about Fordo by name, but he has occasionally alluded to the GBU-57, sometimes telling aides that he ordered its development. That is not correct: The United States began designing the weapon in 2004, during the Bush Administration, specifically to collapse the mountains protecting some of the deepest nuclear facilities in Iran and North Korea. It was, however, tested during Mr Trump's first term, and added to the arsenal. Mr Netanyahu has pressed for the United States to make its bunker busters available since the Bush Administration, so far to no avail. But people who have spoken to Mr Trump in recent months say the topic has come up repeatedly in his conversations with the Prime Minister. When Mr Trump has been asked about it, he usually avoids a direct answer. Now the pressure is on. Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who resigned in a split with Mr Netanyahu, told CNN's Bianna Golodryga on Monday that 'the job has to be done, by Israel, by the United States,' an apparent reference to the fact that the bomb would have to be dropped by an American pilot in a US airplane. He said that Mr Trump had 'the option to change the Middle East and influence the world.' And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who often speaks for the traditional, hawkish members of his party, said on CBS on Sunday that 'if diplomacy is not successful' he will 'urge President Trump to go all in to make sure that, when this operation is over, there's nothing left standing in Iran regarding their nuclear program.' 'If that means providing bombs, provide bombs,' he said, adding, in a clear reference to the Massive Ordinance Penetrator, 'whatever bombs. If it means flying with Israel, fly with Israel.' But Republicans are hardly united in that view. And the split in the party over the decision of whether to make use of one of the Pentagon's most powerful conventional weapons to help one of America's closest allies has highlighted a far deeper divide. It is not only about crippling the centrifuges of Fordo; it is also about MAGA's view of what kinds of wars the United States should avoid at all costs. The anti-interventionist wing of the party, given its most prominent voice by influential podcaster Tucker Carlson, has argued that the lesson of Iraq and Afghanistan is that there is nothing but downside risk in getting deeply into another Middle East war. On Friday, Carlson wrote that the United States should 'drop Israel' and 'let them fight their own wars.' 'If Israel wants to wage this war, it has every right to do so,' he continued. 'It is a sovereign country, and it can do as it pleases. But not with America's backing.' At the Pentagon, opinion is divided for other reasons. Elbridge A. Colby, the undersecretary of defence for policy, the Pentagon's No. 3 post, has long argued that every military asset devoted to the wars of the Middle East is one diverted from the Pacific and the containment of China. (Mr Colby had to amend his views on Iran somewhat to get confirmed.) For now, Mr Trump can afford to keep one foot in both camps. By making one more run at coercive diplomacy, he can make the case to the MAGA faithful that he is using the threat of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator to bring the conflict to a peaceful end. And he can tell the Iranians that they are going to cease enriching uranium one way or the other, either by diplomatic agreement or because a GBU-57 imploded the mountain. But if the combination of persuasion and coercion fails, he will have to decide whether this is Israel's war or America's. This article originally appeared in The New York Times . © 2025 The New York Times Company
9 News
43 minutes ago
- 9 News
The military code being used to mock Donald Trump
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here "Foxtrot Delta Tango" is the phrase that has been making the rounds online in the last few days, confusing plenty of Australians who aren't familiar with the military-inspired slang that has become popular in the US. Here's what it means and why it's being used as a political statement. US President Donald Trump's controversial military parade sparked division over the weekend. (Getty) The phrase "Foxtrot Delta Tango" is currently being used by people in the US and abroad to express the sentiment "f--- Donald Trump", without being explicit. Foxtrot, Delta and Tango are all code words in the NATO phonetic alphabet, used to communicate the letters of the Roman alphabet. They represent the letters F, D and T respectively, so "Foxtrot Delta Tango" stands for FDT. It is unclear where the phrase originated, as "Foxtrot Delta Tango" may have many other meanings outside expressing opposition to the US president. Recently, it has circulated broadly on social media platforms like TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), making its origins hard to pin down. Though the NATO phonetic alphabet is widely used in the US and other militaries, Foxtrot Delta Tango isn't an official military term nor is it used exclusively by military personnel. Military slang using phonetic codes isn't new and many such slang phrases have become common outside the military, such as "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot", which stands for WTF or "what the f---". Opposition to Trump isn't new and people in the US and abroad have been making political statements against the commander-in-chief since before his first stint in the Oval Office. The phrase Foxtrot Delta Tango may have seen increased use lately in response to Trump's involvement in and promotion of the US Army's 250th anniversary parade last Saturday. The massive and controversial parade coincided with Trump's 79th birthday celebrations, a detail that drew criticism from some US military personnel. At the same time, massive "No Kings" demonstrations were held across the US to protest the president and his military parade. World Donald Trump USA US POLITICS president Politics social media CONTACT US
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Trump speeds Future Fund's retreat from US markets
Australia's sovereign wealth fund will seek out more assets in places like Europe and Japan as President Donald Trump makes the US a less attractive place to invest. Although the diversification from US assets was already in train before Mr Trump's re-election, it has only increased the need for insurance against volatility, said Future Fund chair Greg Combet. "We are considering the need to build the physical portfolio in a more diversified way," the former Labor MP told a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event on Tuesday. The fund has already broadened its portfolio, with greater exposure to traditionally defensive currencies like the Euro and Japanese Yen, safehaven commodity gold, and domestic assets to hedge against inflation, higher interest rates and currency movements, Mr Combet said. "While there are still likely to be compelling opportunities in US dollar denominated asset markets, we will need to devote more time and resources to investigating other markets including Japan and the EU." On top of increased trade and security tensions as a result of Mr Trump's policies, the president's 'big beautiful bill' also threatens to drastically raise taxes for international investors, including the Future Fund. "In combination these policies and dynamics are making the US a more risky and uncertain investment destination," Mr Combet said. Depreciation of the greenback, which has fallen about 10 per cent this year against major currencies, further threatened the fund's investments, given the majority of its physical assets were in US dollars. The fund still managed a return of 7.9 per cent in the year to March 31, growing its assets to $240.8 billion. Mr Combet said the fund was continuing to perform solidly, despite the volatility created by Mr Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs and "other policy-induced disruptions". "It seems unlikely that even dramatic reversals of Trump policies would engender a return to a 'business as usual' approach from long-term investors now that investor doubt has been sown," he said. "And the trend towards deglobalisation, greater geopolitical tensions, and multi-polarity in world power pre-date President Trump and can be expected to post-date the Trump era. "We certainly do not think the dynamics I have spoken of will pass and return the world to the norms of yesteryear." Despite the uncertainty, opportunities remain for the Future Fund, which is hoping to leverage growth in demand for clean energy and data centres as artificial intelligence adoption accelerates. The fund recently added a 10 per cent stake in Transgrid, a key player in the federal government's push to expand electricity transmission infrastructure, as well as increasing its holding in data centre company CDC. "We have also committed capital - including long-dated capital expenditure programs - at the intersection of two of the big secular themes of our lifetime: the energy transition and the AI revolution," Mr Combet said. "Data centres, energy infrastructure and renewable generation all expose the Future Fund to what we will be a sustained growth story in the advancement and adoption of artificial intelligence. "Our view at the fund is that AI is coming faster than perhaps many anticipate." In a joint announcement in Seattle on Sunday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and global cloud computing giant Amazon revealed the company would increase its investment in Australian data centres over the next five years to $20 billion.
