People inspect destruction in the opposite office building that housed the offices of the Doha-headquartered news network Al Araby TV following a missile strike earlier in the day in Tehran. AFP
Al Araby condemned the attack on a civilian commercial building and stressed that “endangering journalists or considering them targets runs counter to international law.” The Iranian Red Crescent reported that 10 people were injured in the missile strike.
“Al Araby TV reiterates that its staff in Tehran shall continue to provide comprehensive and professional coverage of the war,” the statement added.
Footage from inside the office showed shattered glass, broken windows, and debris. Images from the street revealed extensive damage to surrounding buildings, with debris scattered across the area. The office is located in a residential part of northeastern Tehran and houses several offices, businesses, and a television broadcasting services company.
Hazem Kallass, the bureau chief for Al Araby, was in the middle of a live report on the ongoing conflict when the missile hit. Posting a video on X, Kallass described the damage, showing the four‑storey building with severe impacts, particularly on the first and second floors. He noted that the building also housed a physiotherapy centre, beauty salon, dental clinic, and a café.
The missile strike comes amid a regional war sparked by US‑Israeli strikes on Iran launched on 28 February, which killed its supreme leader and hundreds of civilians. On the same day, a US missile strike destroyed the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in Minab, southern Iran, killing at least 175 people, most of them schoolchildren.
The war has since spread across the Middle East, with Israel recently targeting media personnel. On Saturday, three Lebanese journalists were killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon. The attack also injured a cameraman.
Lebanese media outlets Al Mayadeen and Al Manar confirmed the deaths of Ali Shoeib of Al Manar and Fatima Ftouni of Al Mayadeen, along with Ftouni’s brother.
Israel has killed more than 230 Palestinian journalists and at least 11 Lebanese journalists since the start of its genocidal war on Gaza on 7 October 2023.
International news outlets have also been targeted, including Reuters and, most recently, CNN's crew in the occupied West Bank.
On 19 March, RT (formerly Russia Today) reported that its Lebanon bureau chief, Steve Sweeney, and his cameraman were injured in an Israeli airstrike while filming in southern Lebanon. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned these attacks, highlighting that journalists must not be targeted under international law.
“The Israeli military has repeatedly failed to protect journalists, raising serious concerns about compliance with its legal obligations,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ Regional Director. “Journalists are civilians and must never be targeted.”
These attacks also targeted RT’s office in Tehran, with the Russian outlet’s bureau in northern Tehran suffering damage on 2 March from an Israeli missile strike.
A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, the CPJ said, with Israel alone responsible for two-thirds of the deaths.
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