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'We are in a war zone,' Iranians speak out as Israeli strikes continue hitting regime targets

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'We are in a war zone,' Iranians speak out as Israeli strikes continue hitting regime targets

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As Israeli airstrikes pounded Tehran this week—including a direct hit on Iran’s state television headquarters—residents in the capital described a city gripped by fear and confusion.

In exclusive comments to Fox News Digital, an independent journalist based in Tehran, who withheld their name for fear of reprisal, said, “I hate the Islamic Republic, but my country is under attack. Our house was shaking from the blasts and missiles an hour ago while I was in the newsroom covering the news. We are in a war zone.”

According to the journalist, the Israeli strike on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) compound hit hard—physically and symbolically.

ISRAEL-IRAN WAR PROMPTS TRUMP TO LEAVE G7 SUMMIT EARLY

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Waving Iran flag above skyline of Tehran at sunset.  (iStock)

“The studio that was bombed yesterday is part of the regime’s state broadcaster, a mouthpiece for propaganda that has never represented the people. For years, we imagined the fall of IRIB as the final chapter in the collapse of the Islamic Republic. But yesterday, for a few minutes, we were all in shock,” they said. “Ordinary people don’t watch the regime’s TV, but the attack on it felt strangely symbolic—like the world was shifting.”

Another independent Iranian journalist ironically added, “I’ve watched the video of the TV station being bombed while on air over and over again, and couldn’t stop laughing.”

The building that houses Iran's state-run television in Tehran was hit by an Israeli airstrike on Monday, Iran's state-run news agency reported.

A missile struck the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN) during a live broadcast showing destruction of the studio and the reporter escaping to safety. (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Despite the chaos, journalists like them are still trying to report. “We don’t know the exact number of casualties, and even the government numbers aren’t trustworthy. We can’t access the attack sites—security forces push us away. And the crackdown on reporters has only gotten worse.”

Internet access has been largely severed. “Most of the time, the internet doesn’t work at all,” they added. “But we try to keep going.”

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Another Tehran resident told Fox News Digital they only learned about the scale of the attacks after briefly regaining internet access. “I was hiding during the bombing. I had no idea what was happening. Has the U.S. intervened? Is this going to continue?” they asked.

INSIDE ISRAEL’S SECRET WAR IN IRAN: MOSSAD COMMANDOS, HIDDEN DRONES AND THE STRIKE THAT STUNNED TEHRAN

Israel strikes on Tehran

People gather in the street in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, Jun.13, 2025.  (West Asia News Agency via REUTERS)

The confusion comes as Washington debates whether to join the conflict militarily or pursue a diplomatic resolution with Tehran. Some in the Trump administration reportedly favor a deal to avoid further escalation, while others advocate for a more forceful stance.

Meanwhile, President Trump’s message was seemingly seen by Iranians when he urged civilians to evacuate Tehran. On Truth Social yesterday, “IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”

The result was reportedly swift, resulting in a mass exodus from the capital. “People are terrified,” said a resident of Tehran. “They’re locking their doors and fleeing the city. Roads are packed. But for those of us who stay—it’s not easy either. All night, we hear missiles, bombings, explosions.”

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” I don’t want to leave my home. But yes—I’m scared,” they added.

Photo of campus uprising in Iran

FILE. Iranians rose up in 2022 against the regime. In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran shows students of the Sharif University of Technology attend a protest sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s morality police, in Tehran, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022.  (AP Photo)

They also responded to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Monday urged Iranians to rise up, saying, “No one thought the Assad regime would fall, but it did.”

“You’re bombing a city of ten million and telling people to rise up?” adding, “When people are under fire, they don’t start a revolution—they take shelter or flee.”

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Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,235

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Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,235

Here are the key events on day 1,235 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is how things stand on Sunday, July 13:

Fighting

  • Ukrainian officials said Russian air attacks overnight on Saturday killed at least two people in the western city of Chernivtsi and wounded 38 others across Ukraine.
  • The raids also damaged civilian infrastructure from Kharkiv and Sumy in the northeast to Lviv, Lutsk and Chernivtsi in the west.
  • The Russian Ministry of Defence said it attacked companies in Ukraine’s military-industrial complex in Lviv, Kharkiv and Lutsk, as well as a military aerodrome.
  • The United Nations Human Rights monitoring mission in Ukraine said that June saw the highest monthly civilian casualties in three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured.
  • In Russia, a man was killed in the Belgorod region after a shell struck a private house, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

Politics and diplomacy

  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told visiting Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov that his country was ready to “unconditionally support” all actions taken by Moscow in Ukraine.
  • Earlier, Lavrov held talks with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, in Wonsan, and they issued a joint statement pledging support to safeguard the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of each other’s countries, according to North Korean state media.
  • Lavrov also warned the United States, South Korea and Japan against forming “alliances directed against anyone, including North Korea and, of course, Russia”.
  • Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, said his government hoped to reach an agreement with the European Union and its partners on guarantees that Slovakia would not suffer from the end of Russian gas supplies by Tuesday. Slovakia has been blocking the EU’s 18th sanctions package on Russia over its disagreement with a proposal to end all imports of Russian gas from 2028. Slovakia, which gets the majority of its gas from Russian supplier Gazprom under a long-term deal valid until 2034, argues the move could cause shortages, a rise in prices and transit fees, and lead to damage claims.
  • Russia blamed Western sanctions for the collapse of its agreement with the UN to facilitate exports of Russian food and fertilisers. The three-year agreement was signed in 2022 in a bid to rein in global food prices.

Weapons

  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was “close to reaching a multilevel agreement” with the US “on new Patriot systems and missiles for them”. Ukraine was stepping up production of its own interceptor systems, he added.
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Trump's tariff collections expected to grow in June US budget data

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Trump's tariff collections expected to grow in June US budget data
The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday will reveal the strength of President Donald Trump’s tariff revenues in its June budget data, as collections from multiple waves of new import duties start to build into a substantial government revenue source.
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17-year-old British teen dies after beach sand tunnel collapses during family vacation: report

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17-year-old British teen dies after beach sand tunnel collapses during family vacation: report

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A day at the beach turned tragic when a 17-year-old boy was killed after a sand tunnel he was digging abruptly collapsed, burying him alive.

The teen, identified as Riccardo Boni by several Italian media outlets, was vacationing in Montalto di Castro, Italy, with his family when the incident occurred on Thursday, July 10.

Boni’s family was staying at a resort in Montalto di Castro, approximately 70 miles north of Rome. The collapse happened around 3:00 p.m. local time while he was on the beach with his father and siblings.

According to local outlet Corriere della Sera, Riccardo Boni and his younger siblings had moved closer to the shoreline, where they began digging a large hole that was reportedly nearly five feet deep, in a more secluded area of the beach. Meanwhile, their father was nearby, dozing off under a beach umbrella. 

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An aerial view shows Lido of Ostia, Rome’s seaside, with private beaches closed for the winter season, on November 10, 2024.  (Photo by Andrea BERNARDI / AFP) (Photo by ANDREA BERNARDI/AFP via Getty Images)

Suddenly, the walls of the tunnel gave way, trapping the teen beneath the sand, the outlet reported. 

The boy remained buried until his father woke up and realized his oldest son was missing. One of his brothers cried out, “Riccardo is under the sand,” according to The Sun. The siblings pointed to the location of the collapsed tunnel, prompting their father and nearby beachgoers to rush over and frantically dig in search of him.

FREAK ACCIDENT AT THE BEACH SENDS TEEN TO ICU AS MOM WARNS OF WATERFRONT DANGER

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A view of a beach in Cinque Terre, Liguria, Italy on July 27, 2024.  (Photo by Gian Marco Benedetto/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Tragically, the boy was found buried in the sand, unresponsive and showing no signs of life. First responders arrived within minutes, including an air ambulance, working to revive him, but it was too late, and the boy could not be saved, the outlet reported. 

“No-one realized what had happened,” Lieutenant Daniele Tramontana, the Carabiniere officer leading the police investigation, told The Sun.

AMERICAN TOURIST REPORTEDLY IMPALED ON ROME’S COLOSSEUM FENCE AS DOZENS WATCH IN HORROR

People walking and playing on a beach

Children dig a hole on a beach as people walk by.  (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“They lost a lot of time because they couldn’t see him. When they realized he was missing they began to look for him but it was too late,” he continued. 

A witness on the beach told Corriere della Serra that “no one on the beach had heard the teenager screaming because he was completely buried within minutes.” 

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A police investigation has since been opened “against persons unknown” in connection with the fatal accident, the outlet added, as authorities consider whether an autopsy will be required.

“I have spoken to colleagues, and we have never heard of anything like this happening before in Italy,” Tramontana said. “We deal with terrible situations all the time, but we can’t imagine how a game on the beach ended up this way.” 

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com

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