Masoumeh Azimi, who worked in the administrative department at Iran’s state-run broadcaster, was gravely wounded in a June 16, 2025, airstrike on the organization’s headquarters. She died from her injuries in the early hours of the following day, according to her employer, media reports, and a colleague, who spoke to CPJ.
Elham Abedini, an international correspondent for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) who was at the headquarters during the attack, told CPJ that Azimi died at Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital in Tehran.
All of IRIB’s broadcasting is controlled by the state, and propagates state policy and ideology, according to the BBC.
Another IRIB employee, Nima Rajabpour, a 50-year-old news editor, also died on June 17 after being injured in the same attack.
In response to a request from CPJ, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had carried out the strike on the complex, stating it was “a precise strike based on intelligence provided by the Intelligence Directorate, targeting a communications center used for military purposes by the Iranian Armed Forces.”
According to the IDF: “The building was being used by the Iranian Armed Forces under the cover of civilian activity, concealing the military use of its infrastructure and assets. The strike directly impacted the military capabilities of the Iranian Armed Forces.”
“Prior to the strike, the IDF provided an effective advanced warning to the civilian population, including phone calls, and conducted the strike in a precise manner in order to mitigate harm to civilians as far as feasible,” IDF said.
While the IDF’s formal statement to CPJ described the June 16 strike on Iran’s state broadcaster as “a precise strike based on intelligence provided by the Intelligence Directorate, targeting a communications center used for military purposes by the Iranian Armed Forces,” the following day, the IDF appeared to shift its justification. In a press conference, spokesperson Efi Dufferin said: “We struck the building of the Iranian Broadcasting Authority, which for decades has served as a platform for anti-Israel propaganda and called for genocide. It is part of the Iranian regime’s campaign to annihilate the State of Israel, and we targeted it just as we target every component of the Iranian terror regime.”
When asked about the airstrike and concerns that it could set a precedent for targeting media outlets, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the action, describing the broadcaster as a legitimate target. “It’s not a broadcast channel,” he said in a news conference. “It’s not a news channel. It’s a tool of a totalitarian regime that hides the true reality from the citizens of Tehran and Iran.”
CPJ made multiple attempts to contact Hussen Gharaei, the head of public relations at IRIB, for comment but received no response.
Azimi was laid to rest with her colleague Nima Rajabpour, on June 18 at Tehran’s Behesht Zahra cemetery.