When Bombs Hit the Newsroom: How the Media Became a Frontline in the Iran-Israel Conflict

On June 16, 2025, viewers of Iranian state television got more than the news. During a live broadcast on Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Israeli airstrikes targeted the station. The scene was surreal: shouts off-camera, dust in the newsroom, and anchor Sahar Emami heroically continuing her broadcast. That footage instantly turned Emami into a national icon.

But not everyone saw the moment as a tragedy. Iran International, an opposition-run media outlet abroad, reported that many Iranians viewed the strike as "a long-overdue punch to the face of the Islamic Republic." To them, IRIB isn’t just a news channel - it’s a mouthpiece for state propaganda, and a tool for disinformation and forced confessions (https://www.iranintl.com/en/202506198051).

The dramatic event was more than just an explosion caught on camera - it symbolized how information itself has become a battlefield. In a time when both Iran and Israel are fighting for control over the narrative, it’s not just bombs flying - it’s competing truths.

A few days later, on June 19, CNN’s Fred Pleitgen toured the smoldering remains of the studio. What was once a bustling newsroom now smelled like smoke, with melted equipment and abandoned lunches left behind on charred desks. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian visited the wreckage on June 21, vowing, “The voice of truth cannot be silenced.” But ironically, his government had shut down the country's Internet three days earlier.

According to Reporters Without Borders, more than 90 million Iranians lost access to the Internet - an information blackout that’s been strongly condemned as a violation of the right to information (https://rsf.org/en/internet-blackout-iran-rsf-condemns-information-blackout-orchestrated-regime-amid-war-israel). Several Iranian news websites like Alef (www.alef.ir) and Kayhan (http://kayhan.ir) were not accessible as of June 24.

Across the border, Israel hasn’t exactly kept the press free either. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) raised concerns about media censorship, pointing out that media outlets need military approval before reporting from missile impact areas. Israel banned Al Jazeera reporters from the country in May, and on the same day as the IRIB strike, raided Palestinian journalists in Haifa (https://cpj.org/2025/06/israel-censors-foreign-press-coverage-of-iranian-strike-sites/).

Al Jazeera, citing CPJ data, says that since October 2023, Israel has killed 178 journalists in Gaza. Reporters Without Borders has documented 35 cases of intentional targeting of journalists. CPJ fears that the impunity for this violence against journalists in Gaza may have emboldened Israel to strike the state media in Iran (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/16/israel-bombs-irans-state-tv-after-threatening-it-would).

In this tangled web of violence and censorship, the media isn't just reporting the story - it is the story. While a right click on many foreign-language print articles can give a reader the gist of the article in passable English, intelligent media monitoring needs to be steeped in a knowledge of the country’s media universe, cultural expression and historical context. 
Understanding what’s really happening means looking beyond headlines. Iran’s media landscape is a complex mix. You've got official broadcasters like IRIB, government-friendly outlets such as the Tehran Times, Mehr News, and Tasnim News, and a shrinking space for semi-independent sources like Fararou, Etemad, Shargh, and Ham-Mihan. Meanwhile, opposition voices operate from exile, like Iran International in London, UK, which features analysis from diaspora scholars and opinion leaders. International media also plays a big role: the British government BBC Persian, Warner Bros.’ CNN, and the independent Arabic channel Al Jazeera all cover Iran, often leveraging social media and satellite TV to sidestep censorship.

In the Iranian state-owned and regime-aligned media, the Israel-Iran conflict is usually framed predominantly through ideological and religious lenses. Themes of Palestinian solidarity, anti-Zionism, and resistance against Western (especially U.S.) imperialism are prominent. Reporting portrays Israeli policies and military actions as aggressive and unjust and casts Iran’s policies in a defensive, justified light. The Persian-language outlets in exile and international media often feature critical perspectives on Iran’s policies. 

While international outlets state that they strive for objectivity, reporting is often coloured by the geopolitical leanings of the media’s home countries, ownership and target audience. International outlets also focus extensively on the international implications; for example, BBC Persian has reported on potential UK involvement in the conflict, Syria’s neutral stance, the regional risks of bombing nuclear facilities, global media reactions, and the dynamics of U.S. involvement.

And then there’s Canada. Canada’s Border Agency is cracking down on Iranian regime officials living in Canada (https://globalnews.ca/news/11261419/iran-regime-officials-canada-deportation-orders/), and Canada’s foreign affairs is worried about Iranian terrorist cells in Canada (https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/iranian-sleeper-cells-canada-1.7569480). What does the Iranian diaspora make of all this?

They keep tabs not only through international and homeland media, but also through the local Persian-language media. Iran Star in Markham offers bite-sized headlines and occasionally misleading commentary, stating, for example, that no one is allowed to provide news, photos or videos of today’s conditions anywhere in Israel. Iran Javan in Toronto zeroes in on Canadian connections - G7 talks, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s appeals to return to negotiations, and CSIS warnings that countries like Iran and India are using organized crime to silence critics abroad. The Persian Epoch Times, founded by Chinese immigrants, focuses on global ripples, like China’s ties to Iran and how those affect Russia. Experts like Professor Hooshang Hassanyari from the Royal Military College and Middle East analyst Shahram Kholdi contribute to Iran International.

Bottom line? Armed conflict isn’t just about missiles and soldiers - it’s about data, narratives, and who controls the mic. State actors and other players are running high-stakes information and disinformation campaigns to sway public opinion and shape global perception.
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In a world where a tweet can spark a riot and a satellite dish can be more powerful than a tank, smart, multilingual media analysis is more than useful - it’s essential.