Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

"Their aim is silence — ours is truth"
Progressive International
25 Jun 2025
🖨️ Print Article
IRIB

Statement from the Sovereign Media collective, a new coalition of anti-imperialist media organizations, on the Israeli regime's assault on journalists from Palestine to Iran.

Originally published in Progressive International.

We, the members of the Sovereign Media collective, unequivocally condemn the Zionist regime's latest escalation in its war on journalism: the targeted bombing of Iran's state broadcaster, IRIB, in central Tehran on 16 June 2025.

This calculated assault killed two media workers — Nima Rajabpour, a news editor at IRIB's Khabar channel, and Masoumeh Azimi, a secretariat staff — during a live broadcast, marking a direct attack on press freedom and the public's right to information. Moments before the airstrike, Israel's so-called Defense Minister openly threatened to "disappear" Iran's state broadcaster, and issued an evacuation warning for Tehran's Third District, indicating foreknowledge and intent.

Israel's attack is part of a broader campaign. Since 13 June, at least four Iranian journalists and media workers have been killed by US-backed Israeli airstrikes. Fereshteh Bagheri, a reporter for Defa Press, was killed when a strike targeted her family home in Tehran. Saleh Bayrami, a graphic designer, was killed two days later while crossing a city intersection. These deaths are not incidental — they are the latest acts in a deliberate strategy to eliminate those documenting Israeli war crimes.

From Iran to Palestine, this pattern is unmistakable. According to the Palestinian Journalists Protection Center (PJPC), at least 227 Palestinian journalists have been slaughtered in Gaza since October 2023 — five of them since the start of June. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that 2024 was the deadliest year for journalists on record, with 124 journalists and media workers killed globally. Two-thirds of them were Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza.

The attack on IRIB, like the ongoing slaughter of Palestinian journalists, reflects a clear strategy: to destroy the media infrastructure, silence witnesses, and obscure war crimes. These are not just attacks on buildings or individuals — they are assaults on the people's sovereign right to report and document what is happening to their people.

Even under fire, voices remain defiant. Anchor Sahar Emami, on air during the IRIB strike, maintained her composure and resumed the broadcast amid the chaos — a symbol of the unyielding power of resistance journalism. We stand in solidarity with all journalists and truth-tellers who are under attack. We condemn this systematic targeting of media workers by the Zionist regime and its backers. We reaffirm our commitment to exposing the machinery of imperialism in West Asia and across the world. Their aim is silence — ours is to ensure these stories are heard.

SIGNATORIES

  • African Stream
  • Black Agenda Report
  • Kawsachun News
  • Orinoco Tribune
  • Qiao Collective
  • Venezuelanalysis
Iran
Journalism
Israel

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Ruben Bauer Naveira
The Global Food Crisis
22 July 2026
Faced with the blockade of vital oil routes, the extreme dependence of modern agriculture on fossil fuels foreshadows not only high prices but
Carlos Aznárez
Zionist Expansionism in Latin America
22 July 2026
Free trade deals, water contracts, and military training programs are quietly binding one Latin American government after another to Tel Aviv.
Noah Hurowitz
Trump’s Sanctions Against the ICC Are Unconstitutional, Rights Groups Say
22 July 2026
The human rights groups’ suit came as the Trump administration vowed to destroy the International Criminal Court entirely.
​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist , Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
The White Supremacist Imperative on Violence: A Black Radical Perspective on the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination
15 July 2026
The U.S.-EU-NATO axis remains intact, and its commitment to militarism represents an existential threat to the world.
Black Alliance For Peace
The Anti Fascist Football Coalition Joins the Call for the Remaining Teams in the World Cup to Withdraw and Urges People of Conscience to Fight Back Against U.S. Fascism
15 July 2026
FIFA allowed a nation that commits genocide and runs detention gulags to host the World Cup, and the Anti-Fascist Football Coalition says stayi
Navid Zarrinnal
The Iranian Revolution and African Solidarity
08 July 2026
Iran's 1979 revolution was a victory for national sovereignty which also forged solidarity with African people. 
Hanna Eid
Sovereignty and Strategic Depth
08 July 2026
The U.S.
Booker Omole
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s Legacy Will Outlive US Imperialism
08 July 2026
Statement on the Funeral of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei by the General Secretary, Booker Omole, Communist Party Marxist Kenya.
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Democrats and Trump Are in Sync on Iran
24 June 2026
The bipartisan consensus for regime change against Iran hit the wall of Iranian resistance.
Jeremy Scahill , Jawa Ahmad
Exclusive: Internal Documents Show Trump’s “Board of Peace“ Moving to Crush Palestinian Self-Determination
24 June 2026
Gaza proposals obtained by Drop Site show Trump’s board attempting to force a Palestinian surrender that Israel could not achieve in war.

More Stories


  • Black Alliance For Peace
    The Mask is Off: The Hideous Connections Between Zionism, Colonialism, Capitalism and Genocide
    15 May 2024
    The enemies of humanity are revealing themselves. It is up to the movement to rise to the occasion and deepen the analysis of the forces at play.
  • Marie Laurette Numa
    US Appointed Haitian Transitional Council Calls for Foreign Military Intervention
    15 May 2024
    The West is continuing to push through the occupation of Haiti, otherwise known as the Multinational Security Support Mission, using the Presidential Transitional Council as cover.
  • Shawn Musgrave
    Even Biden’s Lawyers are Urging the White House to Change Course on Gaza
    15 May 2024
    An open letter from government attorneys questions the legal cover for arms transfers to Israel.
  • Abayomi Azikiwe
    Imperialist Weaponry and Shifting Alliances in the Sahel
    15 May 2024
    Reports of the downsizing of Pentagon troops in Chad comes as the United States continues to delay departure from Niger.
  • Tea Troutman , Sherronda J. Brown
    The Southern Truth About Communism
    15 May 2024
    One cannot begin to understand the story of Southern resistance without recognizing the role of communism in the struggle.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us