Early Friday, Israeli aircraft reportedly hit multiple targets in and around Tehran. Within hours, Persian-language media produced sharply different narratives – ranging from cautious reports of “loud explosions” to sweeping claims that Israel decapitated Iran’s military leadership.
The official IRNA news agency first ran a brief dispatch saying “sounds of explosions have been heard in and near the Iranian capital” and posted unverified photos that “seemed to show the bodies of women and children killed in the strikes on several residential buildings.”
Two hours later, it followed with a headline declaring that Maj.-Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, “has been assassinated in an Israeli strike in Tehran” – the agency’s strongest on-record confirmation so far.
Fararu, a popular centrist news site that often aggregates state and semi-state content, cited the Tasnim News Agency in a banner update: “Salami was martyred in the Zionist regime’s attack on Tehran,” adding that “senior commanders and two nuclear scientists were also killed.”
By contrast, the reform-minded daily Shargh ran the headline “Unconfirmed reports of Salami’s martyrdom” and urged readers to “wait for official clarification,” noting that state television had only flashed a ticker about “unverified” casualties so far.
Exile broadcaster Iran International
London-based Iran International—an opposition satellite channel banned inside Iran—quoted an unnamed Israeli official who said the raid “targeted the homes of senior military and political officials” and insisted that “non-combatants were not the focus of the operation.” The channel also relayed Israeli claims that dozens of air force jets struck nuclear-linked facilities.
On the influential Telegram channel Mamlekate, a user posted: “The whole of Tehran shook; I heard five or six huge explosions – it felt like the neighborhood next door was hit.” Hashtags such as #تهران_زیر_حمله (“Tehran under attack”) and #انتقام_سخت (“severe revenge”) quickly trended across Persian social media, echoing calls for retaliation.
With no unified statement yet from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council or the IRGC, the picture remains murky. Analysts warn that Tehran sometimes imposes a short blackout after major strikes to assess damage and shape a coordinated narrative.