Israel strikes Iranian state TV studio mid-broadcast

Netanyahu tells up to 330,000 Tehran residents to evacuate

- ANDY GREGORY

Hundreds of thousands of people in Tehran were warned by Israel to evacuate yesterday as it launched fresh strikes on Iran, including one that hit the country's state TV station during a live broadcast.

Four days after Israel launched the largest attack on Iran since the 1980s, in a bid to eradicate Tehran's nuclear programme, the two foes continued to trade missile fire, with civilian casualties continuing to mount in the unprecedented conflict.

Live footage showed anchor Sahar Emami briefly fleeing the studio as the offices of Iranian state broadcaster Irib were attacked, rocking the building and causing visible debris to fall in front of the camera.

Clips published from across the street showed several fires burning in the building and a large plume of smoke billowing into the sky.

Just prior to the attack, Israel's defence minister Israel Katz had said that "the Iranian propaganda and incitement mouthpiece is on its way to disappearing", after Israel's military issued an evacuation notice covering much of Tehran's District 3.

According to reports, the warning affected up to 330,000 people in a part of central Tehran housing Iran's state TV and police headquarters, international embassies, and three large hospitals, including one owned by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.