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.
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