Israel escalated its bombings across Iran on Monday, striking Iran’s elite military force and the nation’s state broadcaster and sending thousands fleeing from Tehran, as its offensive entered its fourth day and showed no signs of slowing.
Some of Israel’s attack was televised. On Monday evening, an Iranian state news anchor was live on air when an explosion shook the scene, causing falling debris and the sound of screams and breaking glass. Iranian state media said the blast injured some employees, disabled its website and forced the broadcaster briefly off air.
In what is likely to be a more consequential strike, Israel also bombed the Tehran command center of the Quds Force, one of the most important and covert arms of Iran’s military. The force largely runs Iran’s foreign operations — including training and arming its proxy groups, like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza — and any disruption could be a significant blow to Iran’s military capabilities and regional reach.
Iran fired a barrage of missiles toward Israel on Sunday and Monday, including a strike on Israel’s largest oil refinery, though many were intercepted by Israeli air defenses.
Israel’s expansion of its strikes — from nuclear and military targets to energy infrastructure and a government broadcaster — showed that this offensive is different from Israel’s more targeted attacks against Iran in recent years.
Israel appears to be pouncing on an Iran weakened by nearly two years of blows against its military might, including assassinations of top Iranian commanders, bombings of air defenses and the decimation of the militant groups who were its strongest allies across the Middle East.
Asked in an interview with ABC News on Monday about a possible attack targeting Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and how that could escalate hostilities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said: “It’s not going to escalate the conflict. It’s going to end the conflict.” The question came in response to reports that President Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Mr. Khamenei.
Mr. Netanyahu later told reporters that there was a possibility that Israel’s strikes could topple the Iranian government. “It’s impossible to predict, but it could be the result of our mighty action,” Mr. Netanyahu said, adding, “We are changing the face of the Middle East.”
President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran said in an address to Parliament on Monday that the strikes had halted international talks on Iran’s nuclear program, which had been scheduled to resume on Sunday. “We were not the ones who abandoned the negotiating table,” he said in remarks carried by state media. “We went and even began indirect negotiations — we were negotiating.”
Speaking at the Group of 7 summit meeting in Canada, Mr. Trump suggested that the door remained open for negotiations. “I’d say Iran is not winning this war,” he said. “They should talk immediately before it’s too late.”
Mr. Trump intended to leave the United States off an official G7 statement calling for de-escalation in the conflict, according to a White House official on Monday.
Israel’s first strikes on Friday targeted Iranian nuclear sites and scientists. On Monday, Rafael Grossi, head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, said those attacks may have damaged the centrifuges at Iran’s principle uranium enrichment plant. The strikes did not hit the underground centrifuges — machines that enrich uranium for use in either nuclear power or weapons — but they probably cut off their power, said Mr. Grossi, who leads the International Atomic Energy Agency.
In Tehran, the bombings led to attempts at exodus, but highways were backed up as thousands of people tried to flee the city. Fuel shortages caused some gas stations to close and led to long lines at others in the predawn hours. Phone and internet service was severely disrupted.
“Where should I go? Where can I go? Where can half a million people go in a moment’s notice?” said Danial Amin, a resident of Tehran’s Zafar neighborhood. “The highways are completely blocked. We are trapped.”
On Monday, the Israeli military ordered people in a large part of northern Tehran to flee in the face of impending Israeli attacks in the area. Israel has used the tactic extensively in Gaza and Lebanon, arguing that it helps the military comply with the international laws of war.
The order applied to District 3 in Tehran, a densely populated, upscale residential area with apartment towers, malls and streets lined with cafes and restaurants. Iran’s state broadcaster is also located in the district, and shortly after, it was bombed.
Just before the bombing, Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said in a statement that “the mouthpiece of Iranian propaganda and incitement is about to disappear.”
The Israeli military later said it had struck the broadcaster to target a “communication center” used by the Iranian military “under the guise of civilian activity.” The claim could not be independently verified.
A senior official with the state broadcaster said in an interview that two buildings had been struck at the broadcaster’s headquarters. One housed all the news studios and offices for policymaking; the other was the data center for state broadcasting, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive information. The hit to the data center knocked out the broadcaster’s website, the official said.
The Iranian state broadcaster has long been associated with the government’s dominance of public life and the country’s media. Iran is widely considered to be one of the most repressive states in terms of press freedom; journalists who cross government red lines can face severe consequences.
Since Israel began attacking Iran on Friday, Israeli strikes have killed at least 224 people in Iran, according to the country’s health ministry, and injured more than 1,400 people.
Iran’s counterattacks have been less devastating, in large part because Israel’s air defenses have intercepted many of the Iranian missiles. Israel said at least 24 people, identified as civilians, have been killed in retaliatory barrages by Iran, with about 600 injured.
In Petah Tikva, a city in central Israel that sustained some of the worst damage from an overnight Iranian missile attack on Monday, an apartment tower was missing much of its wall. Four people were killed, at least two of them in the tower.
“There was a huge explosion — more than just a boom,” said Tali Asher, 44, a nurse who lives with her family on the first floor of the building. “The floors and walls shook, the lights went out, and the room was instantly filled with this powdery dust, and we couldn’t breathe.”
Shrapnel from intercepted missiles rained down on other parts of the region, even catching some Palestinians in the crossfire. Since the confrontation began Friday, approximately 80 pieces of shrapnel have hit Palestinian communities in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian emergency services.
Israel has kept its airspace closed to civilian planes since the attacks began, leaving tens of thousands of travelers stranded. On Monday, Israel said it would start organizing some airlifts — but it may be three days before those flights begin.
Reporting was contributed by Vivian Yee, Euan Ward, Parin Behrooz, Leily Nikounazar, Johnatan Reiss, Myra Noveck and Matthew Mpoke Bigg.
Farnaz Fassihi is the United Nations bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the organization, and also covers Iran and the shadow war between Iran and Israel. She is based in New York.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
Gabby Sobelman is a reporter and researcher for The Times, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs, based in Rehovot, Israel.
Jack Nicas is the Brazil bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of much of South America.
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