TEL AVIV/TEHRAN: Iran launched a fresh barrage of missiles towards Israel on Monday night, hours after an Israeli airstrike hit the headquarters of Iran’s state broadcaster in Tehran, intensifying a rapidly escalating regional conflict.
The Israeli military confirmed it had detected incoming missiles from Iran and activated defence systems to intercept the threat.
Sirens sounded across northern Israel as authorities advised civilians to seek shelter, warning of a hostile aircraft infiltration.
“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a social media post, adding that air raid sirens were triggered in several areas near the northern border.
Attack on Iran’s state TV building
The latest Iranian retaliation came shortly after Israel struck the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building in Tehran during a live broadcast.
Iranian media shared footage showing the television presenter abruptly leaving the screen as the blast occurred. The strike was later confirmed by Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
IRIB resumed live programming minutes after the incident. Hassan Abedini, a senior official at the broadcaster, described the Israeli strike as an attack on the “voice of the Islamic revolution”, stating, “The Zionist regime was unaware that the voice of the Iranian nation cannot be silenced by military operations.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the airstrike on the IRIB facility as a “war crime” and urged the United Nations Security Council to intervene.
“The UNSC must act now to stop the genocidal aggressor from committing further atrocities against our people,” said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also condemned the strike, calling it “inhuman, criminal and a terrorist act.”
The attack on the broadcaster followed earlier Israeli airstrikes in a civilian residential area in Tehran, according to Iranian media reports.
Intense confrontation
Israel and Iran traded deadly fire for a fourth day on Monday in their most intense confrontation in history.
In a major campaign launched early Friday, Israeli fighter jets and drones have struck nuclear and military sites in Iran, also hitting residential areas and fuel depots.
Iran’s health ministry says at least 224 people have been killed and more than 1,200 wounded.
Tehran has responded with barrages of missiles and drones that hit Israeli cities and towns, killing at least 24 people and wounding 592 others, according to the prime minister’s office.
Israel has also killed many top military commanders and atomic scientists in Iran.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, did not rule out killing Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“It’s not going to escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict,” he told ABC News when asked about reports that US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei.
The Israeli military said that after a wave of strikes on Monday, its forces had destroyed one third of Iran’s surface-to-surface missile launchers.
According to military spokesman Effie Defrin, “we have now achieved full air superiority over Tehran”.
Reza Sayyad, spokesman for the Iranian armed forces, said their targets in Israel included “sensitive and important” security sites as well as “the residences of military commanders and scientists”.
Among the sites hit in Israel on Sunday was a major oil refinery in the coastal city of Haifa, an Israeli official said after a military censorship gag order was lifted.
Residential areas in both countries have also suffered deadly strikes.
Calls for de-escalation
The conflict has rapidly escalated despite calls from world leaders to halt the attacks.
China urged Iran and Israel to “immediately” take steps to reduce tensions and “prevent the region from falling into greater turmoil”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call on Monday that Ankara was ready to play a “facilitating role” to end the conflict.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he believed “there’s a consensus for de-escalation” among Group of Seven leaders, who are meeting in Canada.
Trump told reporters at the G7 summit that “Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk… before it’s too late”.
Nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington that were set to take place on Sunday had been called off.
Amid the mounting hostilities, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Monday that Israeli forces had downed two Iranian F-14 fighter jets.
US warship heading toward Middle East
Meanwhile, the United States is bolstering its military presence in the region. A US official told CNN that the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is moving towards the Middle East “without delay”, cancelling a scheduled port call to expedite its deployment.
The Nimitz will replace the USS Carl Vinson, currently stationed in the region.
The official added that US naval assets capable of intercepting ballistic missiles will soon move into the eastern Mediterranean.
Over the weekend, US Navy ships reportedly intercepted missiles targeting Israel on at least two occasions.
