'War Crime': Iran Demands UN Action After Israeli Bombing of Media Building on Live TV

The Israeli military deliberately bombed the studio of an Iranian state television network during a live broadcast on Monday, an attack that Iran swiftly condemned as a "war crime."

Video footage posted to social media shows the moment the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) complex was hit by Israeli forces, forcing the anchor to flee for safety as smoke and debris filled the broadcast room.

Watch:

Shortly before the attack, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that the "Iranian propaganda and incitement mouthpiece is on its way to disappearing."

Katz made clear in a subsequent social media post that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intentionally targeted the media building.

"The Iranian regime's propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority was attacked by the IDF after a widespread evacuation of residents in the area," Katz wrote.

"Calling someone a mouthpiece doesn't give you permission to kill them."

The number of casualties from the attack was not immediately clear. Foad Izadi, professor of international relations at the University of Tehran, told Al Jazeera that the number could be high.

"It's a huge building," said Izadi. "Iran's news channel is located on the first floor. It has four floors, and on every floor you have at least 200-300 people working."

“They were getting ready for the evening program. This is going to result in a lot of civilians—generally young people, young journalists—getting killed," he added. "Calling someone a mouthpiece doesn't give you permission to kill them."

Targeting journalists and media infrastructure is prohibited under international law—and the use of media facilities for propaganda purposes does not render them legitimate military targets.

The IDF claimed, without providing any evidence, that the targeted building "was being used for military purposes by the Iranian Armed Forces."

Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, called the Israeli attack "a wicked act" and a "war crime." He went on to urge the United Nations Security Council to "act now to stop the genocidal aggressor from committing further atrocities against our people."

"The world is watching," he wrote.

Sara Qudah, Middle East and North Africa regional director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Monday that the press freedom group is "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," said Qudah. "This bloodshed must end now."