RT Arabic office in Tehran evacuated after nearby strike

No casualties among the network’s staff were immediately reported

RT Arabic has evacuated its office in the Iranian capital, Tehran, after a nearby airstrike, the channel reported on Monday. There were no immediate reports of casualties among its staff.

Branch chief Hami Hamedi has shared several videos showing a building which he said had just been destroyed next to the RT office. He said a gas leak, which can be heard in the footage, prompted his decision to instruct staff to urgently leave the premises.

A separate clip shows nearby buildings with windows shattered by the blast wave.

On Saturday, the US and Israel launched a joint military attack against Iran, aimed at killing the country’s leaders and replacing its government. Russia has condemned the decision to use military force as an act of unprovoked aggression and called the targeted killing of the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a political assassination that undermines basic principles of international relations.

RT launched its Arabic-language broadcast arm in 2007. The channel, also known as Rusiya Al-Yaum, is headquartered in Moscow and has regional offices in several Arab-speaking nations.

In 2023, RT Arabic’s branch in Gaza was destroyed amid the Israeli campaign targeting the militant movement Hamas, which resulted in devastation of large parts of the Palestinian enclave.

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