The Israel Defense Forces issued its first-ever evacuation order to residents of Tehran on Monday ahead of a planned strike on the state-run television channel that serves as a mouthpiece for the radical Islamist regime in Iran.
The IDF’s Persian-language (Farsi) Spokesperson warned residents in District 3 in the Iranian capital to leave their homes due to impending Israeli military action against enemy installations in the city.
“Urgent warning to all individuals who are present in the area indicated on the attached map in District 3 of Tehran,” the IDF Farsi Spokesperson wrote.
“Dear citizens, for your safety we ask you to leave the indicated area in District 3 of Tehran immediately. In the coming hours, the Israeli army will operate in this area, as it has done in recent days in the vicinity of Tehran.
“Your presence in this area endangers your lives.”
Iranian State Broadcaster Struck
Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement late Monday afternoon that Israeli forces will focus on the destruction of the Iranian regime’s television channel in the coming hours. “The mouthpiece of Iranian propaganda and incitement is on its way to disappearing,” Katz said. “Evacuation of surrounding residents is beginning.”
Shortly thereafter, an Israeli airstrike did indeed target the television station, cutting off a broadcast featuring a ranting female with footage of earlier airstrikes in the background.
“The Iranian regime’s propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority was attacked by the IDF after a widespread evacuation of residents in the area,” Katz said in a follow-up statement.
Video footage on social media showed flames engulfing the building, filled with broken glass and concrete, following the airstrikes.
“The building was used by the Iranian Armed Forces under the guise of civilian activity, covering up the military use of the center’s infrastructure and assets. The strike directly harmed the military capabilities of the Iranian Armed Forces,” the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement.
“Prior to the strike, the IDF provided an effective advanced warning to the civilian population, including phone calls, and conducted the strike in a precise manner in order to mitigate harm to civilians as far as feasible.”
Israel Rules the Skies over Tehran
IDF Spokesperson Effie Defrin told reporters Monday in a briefing that Israel has achieved “full aerial superiority” over the skies of Tehran.
“Last night, we completed another wave of strikes in Tehran during which we targeted over 20 command centers of the Iranian military and the Quds Force,” Defrin said. “We eliminated the Head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization and his deputy, as well as the head and deputy head of the Quds Force Intelligence Organization.”
The Quds Force is the central terror arm of the Iranian regime and is responsible for operating Iran’s proxies around Israel’s borders and for distributing weapons and missiles intended for attacks on the State of Israel.
The Quds Force has been the main conduit for many of the terrorist attacks and assaults against Israel in recent decades – but those command centers, where these attacks were planned, have now been completely destroyed.
