SFI activists barge into Malayalam news channel office, intimidate staff over 'fake news'

Tehran, June 17: Sahar Imani, one of the most prominent anchors with the Iranian state television, is being praised widely on social media for returning to broadcast immediately after an Israeli strike on the studio last evening. Dramatic footage showed the organisation's building on fire in Tehran as Israeli attacks grew amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.

The Israeli regime targeted one of the buildings of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) in Tehran on Monday, June 16.  The attack, involving at least four bombs, struck the central building housing IRIB’s news department, while a live news broadcast was underway.

The transmission was briefly interrupted before Hassan Abedini, IRIB’s news director and deputy for political affairs, appeared on air to condemn the terrorist crime.

At the time of the attack, news anchor Sahar Emami was presenting the news. Despite the building trembling under the first strike, she stood her ground and continued the broadcast.

“Allahu Akbar” (God is Great), she proclaimed, drawing global attention to the heinous war crime committed by the Zionist regime against Iran’s national broadcaster.

Moments later, another blast filled the studio with smoke and dust, forcing her to evacuate. She returned shortly after to join Abedini and share her harrowing experience.

“If I die, others will take my place and expose your crimes to the world,” she declared, looking straight into the camera with resolute courage and composure.

Social media posts from regime supporters lauded Imani's strength and courage, and her image was shared alongside senior leaders of the Shia-Iranian axis.

"She is the face of Iranian women's courage," read one of the posts. With her image alongside Nasrallah, another was captioned: "You cannot destroy an idea by killing."

Going viral is her gesture of pointing her finger while targeting Israel on television, just before the strike filled the studio with smoke. Her gesture has found her place in online posters alongside Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, making similar gestures.

Iran's Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Zahra Behramzadeh Azar, also praised Imani in a post, calling her a symbol of Iranian women's courage and stating that she has become "the voice of all Iranian citizens in the face of aggression."

Who is Sahar Imani?

Sahar Imani is one of Iran's most famous news anchors. Trained in food engineering, she entered the media field with an anchoring role in 2010. Soon, she gained national prominence by presenting on Iran's official news channel.

She is married and has a child.

Following Monday's events, Arabic-language media praised her "calm demeanor and confident presence". Their coverage also noted her "simplicity and avoidance of heavy makeup."

Israeli war crime

While the number of casualties remains unconfirmed, insiders report that several journalists inside the building were injured in the bombing.

Israel’s war ministry promptly claimed responsibility for the attack.

Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the aggression on the state broadcaster as a “war crime” and called on the United Nations to take immediate action against the Zionist regime.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denounced the attack and urged the international community to hold the regime accountable for its assault on the media.

“The world is watching: targeting Iran’s news agency #IRIB’s office during a live broadcast is a wicked act of war crime,” Baghaei wrote on X.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) also condemned the bombing of the IRIB news building, labeling it “inhuman, criminal, and a terrorist act.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was “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,” Sara Qudah, the West Asia representative for CPJ, said in a statement after the attack on an IRIB building. 

The Israeli regime has a documented history of targeting journalists globally. Since October 2023, it has killed over 250 Palestinian journalists in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The regime launched its aggression against the Islamic Republic, including Tehran, early on Friday, leading to the assassination of several high-ranking military officials, nuclear scientists, and civilians, including women and children.

In response, Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones late Friday night, followed by more retaliatory operations on Saturday and Sunday as part of True Promise III.

A disturbing video showing an Indian student being handcuffed and forcibly restrained by authorities at Newark Liberty International Airport has sparked outrage on social media. The incident, which occurred during the student’s deportation process, was filmed by Indian-American entrepreneur Kunal Jain, who described the scene as “heartbreaking.”

The footage shows the student pinned to the ground by at least four officers, with two visibly pressing their knees into his back. His hands and legs were tied. Jain, who witnessed the incident firsthand, said the student appeared disoriented and was crying while being treated "like a criminal."

“He came chasing dreams, not causing harm,” Jain wrote in a post on X. “As an NRI, I felt helpless and heartbroken. This is a human tragedy.”

In response to the viral video and public anger, the Indian Consulate in New York issued a statement acknowledging the reports and said it is in contact with local authorities. “The Consulate remains ever committed to the welfare of Indian nationals,” the statement read.

Witness account

Jain, who was present at the airport, said the student appeared confused and may have been under stress. “There were around 50 people standing nearby, but no one said a word,” he recalled.

According to Jain, the student was struggling to communicate with the officers, speaking in Haryanvi Hindi. The authorities claimed they could not understand him. Jain offered to translate, but his request was denied.

Instead, more police were called in. “They emptied the whole queue and restrained him with force. At that point, I broke down. It was public, humiliating, and inhuman,” Jain said.

He added that the student reportedly shouted:

“Main pagal nahi hoon, yeh mujhe pagal bana rahe hain. Main pagal nahi hoon, yeh mujhe pagal sabit kar rahe hain” (“I’m not mad, they’re trying to make me mad. I’m not mad, they want to prove that I am.”)

Jain believes the student may have been denied entry due to perceived disorientation at immigration. “But even if he was stressed or confused, officials usually handle such cases while maintaining a person’s dignity. This wasn’t that,” he said.

A painful reminder

This incident has rekindled painful memories of mass deportations of Indians during the Trump-era immigration crackdown. In one such instance in February, over 100 Indians were deported in shackles, handcuffed with legs bound, as they deboarded a flight in India — imagery that drew widespread condemnation back home.

The latest episode has once again raised questions about the treatment of Indian nationals abroad and whether enough is being done to ensure their dignity during deportation or detention procedures.

New Delhi: At least five MBBS students, one PG resident doctor and the wife of a superspecialist doctor of the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad were killed and over 60 medical students injured when an Air India plane crashed into the college complex, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) claimed.

The search operation at the crash site is still going on and many are feared buried in the debris, FAIMA national vice president Dr Divyansh Singh said. "Bodies that have been found were totally charred," he added.

The London-bound Boeing 787-8 aircraft crashed into the medical college complex and burst into a ball of fire moments after take-off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, possibly killing almost everyone on board in one of the country's worst air disasters.

There were 242 people on board, including 12 crew members. Of the 230 passengers on board, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national, Air India said earlier in the day in a statement.

"As of now, at least five medical students, one PG resident doctor and the wife of a superspecialist doctor from the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad have been killed and over 60 medical students have been injured," Singh said.

"As per the information I have received so far, the plane after losing its balance crashed over the boys hostel building of the BJ Medical College. And as it was a lunch time most of the students and resident doctors were there for lunch," he said.

There was no official count of those killed even hours after the the crash.

As rescuers struggled to find survivors in the charred wreckage and pull out the injured, many of them with grievous burns, officials tried to assess the human magnitude of the disaster. Unofficial reports said up to 25 people in the medical complex could also have died.

According to Air India, of the 230 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. The other 12 people on board were two pilots and 10 crew members.

The search was also on for the aircraft's black box -- the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder -- for clues to understand what happened in the last crucial moments of the doomed flight to London's Gatwick airport.

The Indian Medical Association expressed deep sorrow over the tragic loss of lives in the plane crash at Ahmedabad.

"We extend our heartfelt prayers for the speedy recovery of all those injured," the IMA said in a statement.

A team of doctors from the IMA, Gujarat branch assisted by the IMA-Medical Student Network has been promptly deployed to the incident site and City Hospital, Ahmedabad to assist in emergency medical care.

"IMA stands in solidarity with the families of the victims during this difficult time. We are committed to providing all possible medical support and coordinating with local authorities for relief efforts.

"This tragedy reminds us of the importance of rapid response and unified support in moments of national crisis," it said.