Israel warns Iranians to flee as deadly air raids continue

Evacuation order comes amid speculation Tehran may leave nuclear treaty

- Julian Borger

Israeli forces have issued an evacuation order to residents of a large part of Tehran, warning them of the imminent bombing of "military infrastructure" in the area in a social media post very similar to those regularly directed at Palestinians in Gaza over the past 20 months.

The post on X was from the account of the Israel Defense Forces' Arabic spokesperson, Col Avichay Adraee, and is a further sign of the evolving nature of the Israeli campaign against Iran, which began with attacks on air defences, nuclear sites and the military chain of command, but appears to have drifted towards a war of attrition focused on Iran's oil and gas industry and on the capital.

In another sign of the changing targets of the Israeli offensive, Iran's state TV announced last night that it was under attack and had to cease live broadcasting.

An explosion could be heard in a live transmission before the presenter hurried off camera as dust and debris appeared in the studio. Cries of "Allahu Akbar", or "God is greatest", could be heard off-screen and the broadcast switched to pre-recorded programming.

Adraee's online post included a map depicting a significant area of the third district in northern Tehran shaded in red in the same manner he has presented evacuation orders for Palestinians.

"Dear citizens, for your safety, please leave the described area in the 3rd district of Tehran immediately," the message said in Farsi.