Israel strikes Iranian state TV in new attack on Tehran – DW – 06/16/2025

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Monday that Germany, France and the United Kingdom are keen to resume nuclear talks with Iran.

The three countries, known as the “E3,” have held four meetings with Iranian delegations in recent months on Iran’s nuclear program. The United States also held parallel negotiations.

Iran insists that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says Iran is enriching uranium far beyond what is needed for civilian use.

On June 12, the IAEA adopted a resolution condemning Iran’s “non-compliance” with its nuclear obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran faces the possibility of sanctions.

“We will once again make our clear position explicit there that we can only achieve a contractual settlement and avoid further military conflicts if Iran is fully prepared to refrain from using nuclear technology for military purposes,” Wadephul said during a stopover in Cyprus after a multi-day visit to the Middle East.

After Israel’s attack on Iran on Friday, which included nuclear sites, Tehran canceled a planned continuation of talks.

US President Donald Trump addressed the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

Trump said Iran wants to talk about deescalation and should negotiate with Israel “before it’s too late.” 

“I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately,”  Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Iran’s state broadcaster in Tehran was hit by an Israeli strike Monday evening.  

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement after the strike that “the propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority of the Iranian regime was attacked” by Israeli forces.”

A video clip from the IRIB broadcaster showed a live broadcast interrupted by loud explosions. The broadcast resumed after a short pause. 

There was no immediate information provided about casualties or damage. 

Earlier Monday, Katz had issued a cryptic statement that Iran’s state television and radio were “about to disappear.” 

He made the statement after an evacuation warning was issued for a district in northern Tehran where the broadcaster is based.

A residential building damaged by an Israeli airstrike on June 13Image: Saba/Middle East Images/IMAGO

“We don’t have access to a shelter. There are no shelters in the whole city. I don’t think there are any places people can go to in an emergency,” one Tehran resident said.

Mehdi Chamran, spokesperson for Tehran’s City Council, suggested that residents should also consider sheltering in underground parking garages. Iranian officials say schools and mosques are being used as makeshift shelters.

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Israel’s military urged residents of a district in northern Tehran to evacuate “immediately” on Monday evening, saying it intended to carry out airstrikes. 

“In the coming hours, the (Israeli military) will operate in the area, as it has in recent days throughout Tehran, to strike military infrastructure of the Iranian regime,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a post on X in Persian.

The post showed a part of Tehran’s District 3 on a map.  The area is known as an upmarket part of Tehran home to at least four hospitals and medical centers, a major police building and state broadcaster IRIB.

Shortly thereafter, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said residents of Tel Aviv should evacuate, Iranian state media reported. 

Palestinians walks toward a Gaza Humanitarian Fund food distribution center in southern Gaza on June 5Image: AFP/Getty Images

At least 20 Palestinians were killed in shootings at food distribution centers in southern Gaza, the Health Ministry reported on Monday.

According to the Health Ministry, the people killed were trying to reach the US- and Israel-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Gaza’s civil defense agency reports that dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach aid distribution points operated by GHF. The United Nations does not work with the foundation, which it considers ineffective and aimed at catering to Israeli military objectives.

There have been near-daily reports of shootings as Palestinians move through Israeli-controlled areas toward GHF food aid centers in Gaza.

There was no immediate comment from Israel on Monday’s incident. In previous incidents, the Israeli military has said it has fired warning shots at people approaching their positions.

Israel restricts media access to the Gaza strip, meaning that news agencies are unable to independently verify death tolls.

The UN’s OCHA humanitarian agency has warned that Gaza’s entire population of 2 million is at risk of famine. Israel is under international pressure to allow more aid to reach Gazans.

Since Israel resumed strikes on Gaza in March, more than 5,000 people have been reported killed. Israel also cut off aid entering Gaza for two months, saying supplies were aiding Hamas militants who continue to control the enclave.

More than 55,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas terror attacks that preceded the war with Israel.

Transport Minister Miri Regev said Israel planned to gradually secure the return of the about 100,000 citizens who are stuck abroad following the closure of the country’s airspace.

Regev said leaving Israel would not be possible for nationals who live within the country for the time being.

Only tourists, diplomats and participants of various exchange programs will be allowed to depart to their home countries.

Iran has accused Israel of targeting a hospital, labeling it a “war crime.”

“Farabi Hospital in the city of Kermanshah in western Iran was targeted by the Israeli regime’s aggressive attacks,” an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

Footage shared by Iranian media showed damage to the intensive care unit and blood-stained beds.

According to previous Iranian media reports, a workshop near the hospital was the target of the Israeli attack.

An Israeli army spokesman said the reports are under investigation.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, said there was “no indication” of a physical attack on an underground section of the Natanz uranium enrichment site in Iran.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said “no additional damage” had been recorded at the Natanz plant since Friday, while radioactivity levels outside it “remained unchanged and at normal levels, indicating no external radiological impact.”

Israel targeted the Natanz facility with airstrikes, which resulted in its above-ground part being destroyed.

Israeli strikes damaged several buildings at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facilityImage: Maxar Technologies/AP/picture alliance

The Israeli army says it has gained control of the airspace over Iran’s capital, Tehran.

“We can now say that we have achieved full air superiority in the skies over Tehran,” military spokesperson Effie Defrin told a press conference.

Defrin said more than 50 fighter jets and precision missiles had struck over 120 launch pads of the ballistic missiles that had been fired in Israel’s direction since Friday. He also said Israel has destroyed a third of Iran’s launch pads.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz somewhat backtracked on his previous statement on Monday after he said Tehran “will burn.”

In a post on his X account, Katz said that the Israeli military “does not have any intention of physically hurting” the people of Tehran.

“The residents of Tehran will have to pay the dictatorship’s price and evacuate their homes in areas in which there will be a need to attack the regime’s targets and security infrastructure” in Iran’s capital city, Katz said.

Poland is set to evacuate its citizens from Israel due to the conflict between Israel and Iran.

The country’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Henryka Moscicka-Dendys, told reporters that the plan should take place within the next “few dozen hours,” with some 200 Polish nationals in Israel as tourists being evacuated through Amman.

This comes as the Czech Republic has already begun evacuating its citizens, with a convoy of Czech nationals leaving Tel Aviv for the Israeli border with an unnamed country for security reasons.

The three people who had previously been unaccounted for after an Iranian missile hit a building in the Israeli city of Haifa were pronounced dead by Israeli authorities. 

Reports in Israel say that contact with the three had been lost shortly after the missile’s impact, with the fires preventing rescue services from reaching them in time.

This brings the casualty tally from the overnight Iranian missile attack in Israel to eight, with a total of 24 people killed since Friday.

Israeli emergency workers recovered more bodies from the site of an Iranian strike in HaifaImage: Ariel Schalit/AP/dpa/picture alliance

The United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said the US embassy’s Tel Aviv branch had suffered “minor damage” as a result of an Iranian missile hitting Tel Aviv.

In a post on his X account, Huckabee said no US personnel were injured, also adding that the embassy and consulate in Israel will remain closed.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has threatened Iran following the overnight Iranian missile attacks on Israel, which claimed the lives of five people.

In a post on his X account, Katz labeled the Iranian regime as a “braggy dictator” and a “cowardly murderer,” blaming Iran for deliberately targeting Israeli civilians.

“The residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon,” Katz said.