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How Western Media Have Aided the Iranian Regime’s Attacks on Israel
A rescue personnel works at an impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Rishon LeZion, Israel, June 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Knesset member Azmi Bishara fled Israel dramatically in 2007 to avoid prosecution for accepting payment in exchange for giving Hezbollah information about strategic locations in Israel to target during the previous year’s Second Lebanon War.
Bishara was caught advising the Iranian-backed terror group on how to aim its rockets more accurately to hit substantial targets in the very country where he served as a member of parliament.
Eighteen years later, no Bishara is needed.
Today, if Iran’s leaders want to assess the effectiveness of their attacks, all they have to do is turn on the television or go online. Since Iranian-backed Hamas launched the current war against Israel with its October 7, 2023, massacre, media outlets have repeatedly abetted Israel’s enemies by reporting from the scenes of attacks.
That violation of decades-old Israeli military censorship policies has only intensified during Iran’s current wave of strikes on Israeli military and civilian targets.
It began on Saturday, when Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst revealed live on air that Hamas had hit a Tel Aviv apartment building near the Kirya military base, which he described as “Israel’s version of the Pentagon.”
After a warning from the Government Press Office, Yingst became more cautious, reporting more generally from “central Israel.”
The Atlantic’s Jeff Goldberg had the decency to wait before publishing his exclusive on the US military op against the Houthis, in order not to risk American lives.@TreyYingst exposed realtime intel to the Iranian regime, putting Israeli lives in jeopardy, just for his scoop. https://t.co/klRM3FDVeS
— Simon Plosker (@SimonPlosker) June 14, 2025
Then, on Sunday, a group of cameramen broadcast for well over an hour from the power plant at the Haifa oil refinery — another highly sensitive site that had been struck by an Iranian ballistic missile. Al Jazeera used the footage.
When police approached the cameramen, it turned out they weren’t actually working for Al Jazeera. As a result, their equipment could not legally be confiscated, due to a law passed last year that bans the Qatari state-run propaganda outlet from operating in Israel. Al Jazeera has used freelancers to circumvent the ban, staying one step ahead of Israeli legislators in a game of cat and mouse.
But the cameramen, like all journalists in Israel, are still bound by military censorship laws that prohibit the publication of sensitive security information that could aid Israel’s enemies or endanger civilians.
“It has come to our attention that certain members of the press are filming sensitive and restricted areas following missile impacts, despite clear and repeated instructions from law enforcement officers on site, as well as prior directives issued by the Military Censor,” read a police statement released in English. “Such actions are both unlawful and irresponsible. They endanger public safety, disrupt emergency operations, and may unintentionally assist hostile actors.”
Police emphasized that the guidelines issued to the media are legally binding and intended to protect lives, preserve operational security, and ensure coordinated emergency response.
“We call on all journalists and media outlets to demonstrate responsibility and uphold the law,” the statement continued. “Those who choose to violate these restrictions will be held fully accountable in accordance with the law.”
The laws were reiterated in a letter sent to the Foreign Press Association on Monday.
Censorship remains unpopular in democratic societies. It is seen as a violation of free speech and a relic of a bygone era. Israel’s censorship law was enacted in 1966, when the country was smaller and media outlets operated under very different conditions.
But the policy remains in place because it saves lives. That’s especially true now, in the midst of a high-stakes Israeli operation aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons and fulfilling its goal of annihilating the Jewish State.
On Monday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote to S., the new interim head of the Shin Bet security service, urging action against media outlets that violate censorship laws and pledging police assistance.
If the controversial Ben-Gvir, who has taken an uncharacteristically low profile in the current fight against Iran, moves to have a journalist arrested, it would almost certainly draw negative coverage. Israel has already been condemned internationally for bombing the headquarters of IRIB, the Iranian regime’s state broadcaster.
That strike occurred while anchorwoman Sahar Emami was live on air, pointing her finger at what she called “Iran’s aggressors.”
Moment Israel’s air strike hit Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB. Iranian presenter Sahar Emami was on air when one of the studios got hit.
The attack followed an evacuation warning issued by Israel for Tehran’s upscale District 3, a densely populated area. pic.twitter.com/zuJx2tC7qI
— Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (@RFERL) June 16, 2025
The IDF responded by stating that the communications center was being used for military purposes by the Iranian regime, and that the strike took place an hour after Israel issued a warning to evacuate the area of Tehran where the station is located.
But the strike had further justification. IRIB, along with its English-language counterpart Press TV, serves as the propaganda arm of the Iranian regime. It disseminates disinformation, suppresses domestic dissent, and incites attacks against Israel by Iran and its proxies.
These broadcasters are an integral part of the Iranian war machine, just as Hitler’s propagandists were during World War II.
The global battle over the narrative will determine the outcome of this war, just as much as what unfolds on its seven military fronts.
And on both the military and media battlefields, Israel cannot afford to lose.
The author is the Executive Director of HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
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Major League Soccer Player, Lead Scorer Remains Stuck in Israel With Family Amid Iran War
In Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on May 28, 2025, Philadelphia Union attacker Tai Baribo #9 is challenged by Alonso Coello #14 of Toronto FC during the MLS game between Toronto FC and Philadelphia Union at BMO Field. Photo: Indrawan Kumala via Reuters Connect
Major League Soccer (MLS) player Tai Baribo is stuck in his native country of Israel and has been unable to leave since war broke out between the Jewish state and Iran almost a week ago.
The Philadelphia Union forward, who is the league’s leading goal scorer, and his family have been unable to return to the United States because airspace in Israel has been closed as the country faces Iranian missile attacks, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The Union said in a statement to the publication on Tuesday it has been in “constant communication” with Baribo, 27, and “are actively working to bring him back to Philadelphia safely.”
“With the airspace currently closed, the situation remains fluid, and we are exploring all alternative options,” the Union further told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Our priority is Tai’s safety and well-being. We will share more updates if and when it is appropriate.”
The Union is on a two-week break while the FIFA Club World Cup and the Concacaf Gold Cup currently take place across the US. Several Union players are competing in the Gold Cup, which began its second round of group stage matches this week and concludes with a final on July 6. The final for the FIFA Club World Cup is set to take place on July 13.
Baribo has scored 13 goals in 16 MLS matches and is a frontrunner in the race for this year’s Golden Boot, which is given to the league’s top goal scorer. After the Union’s game on May 31 against FC Dallas, he traveled to compete with Israel’s national team in international matches, including a FIFA World Cup qualifying game against Estonia on June 6 and a friendly match against Slovakia on June 10 in Hungary. He had a calf injury that ultimately kept him out of the two international games. He returned to Israel following those matches and has been unable to leave the country since.
Baribo was born in Eilat, Israel. It remains unclear where in Israel he is staying during the c urrent war, but his wife reportedly shared a video on her Instagram story that showed the aftermath of a missile attack near their location. Another video that she posted showed Baribo and others in what appeared to be a storage room used as a bomb shelter.
On Wednesday, Israel’s national carrier El Al launched an airlift operation to bring tens of thousands of stranded Israeli citizens back to Israel. Israel’s Transportation Ministry estimated that more than 50,000 Israelis worldwide have been unable to get back home after airlines stopped flights to the country when the war broke out on June 13.
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Trump Says US ‘May or May Not’ Join Israeli Strikes, Tells Iran ‘Good Luck’ After Khamenei Rejects Surrender Demand
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he has yet to decide whether the United States will join Israel’s military campaign against Iran, after Tehran rejected Washington’s demand for an “unconditional surrender.”
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump declined to say whether he had made a decision about US military involvement in the ongoing conflict against the Islamist regime in Iran.
“I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Trump said.
He also noted that Iranian officials had reached out about negotiations, including a possible meeting at the White House, but suggested it may be too late to negotiate.
“It’s very late to be talking,” Trump said. “Unconditional surrender, that means I’ve had it.”
When asked about Tehran’s rejection of his demand to surrender, Trump responded, “I say, good luck.”
On Wednesday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei not only rejected Trump’s call to back down but also warned Washington of “serious, irreparable consequences” if it intervenes in the conflict with Israel.
“Wise individuals who know Iran, its people, and its history never speak to this nation with the language of threats, because the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” the Iranian leader said in a televised speech.
“Americans should know that any military involvement by the US will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them,” Khamenei continued.
The harm the US will suffer will definitely be irreparable if they enter this conflict militarily.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 18, 2025
After convening his national security cabinet at the White House on Tuesday, Trump warned that Washington could easily target the Iranian leader and called on Tehran to halt its attacks on the Jewish state.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin,” he continued.
In a post on X, Khamenei claimed that US involvement in the war would be “100% to its own detriment,” stressing that “the damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter.”
The US entering in this matter [war] is 100% to its own detriment. The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 18, 2025
“The harm the US will suffer will definitely be irreparable if they enter this conflict militarily,” the Iranian leader said.
Khamenei also called for a strong response to Operation Rising Lion – Israel’s sweeping military campaign against Iran, which began with a preemptive strike launched early Friday morning to dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities and neutralize what officials described as an imminent nuclear threat.
“We must act forcefully against the Zionist terrorist entity. We will not be merciful toward the Zionists,” Khamenei wrote.
The ongoing Israeli strikes killed several of Iran’s top military commanders and nuclear scientists and dealt a major blow to the country’s retaliatory capabilities, destroying not only much of its ballistic missile stockpiles but also crippling its launch platforms.
Shortly after Israel started its military campaign, Trump suggested that Iran had brought the attack upon itself by rejecting Washington’s demands in nuclear negotiations to limit the country’s uranium enrichment program.
He urged Tehran to reach a nuclear deal, warning that “the next attacks already planned will be even more brutal.”
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not back down until Iran’s nuclear capabilities are dismantled, Trump has indicated the conflict could end if Tehran agrees to strict limits on its nuclear program.
Israel had previously declared it would never allow the Islamist regime to acquire nuclear weapons, as the country views Iran’s nuclear program — which Tehran insists is solely for civilian purposes — as an existential threat.
Iranian leaders have regularly declared their intention of destroying Israel and have for decades supplied internationally designated terrorist groups, such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, with weapons and funding to attack the Jewish state.
The post Trump Says US ‘May or May Not’ Join Israeli Strikes, Tells Iran ‘Good Luck’ After Khamenei Rejects Surrender Demand first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Arms Firm Threatens to Sue France Over Blocked Off Booths at Paris Air Show
View of the closed IAI stand at the 55th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport on June 16, 2025. Photo: Facebook/Israel Ministry of Defense
The Israeli weapons company Rafael said it will sue the French government for closing off its stand at the 55th Paris Air Show this week because of “offensive” items on display amid Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Since the start of the world’s biggest aviation trade show on Monday in Le Bourget Airport, four of the nine Israeli companies presenting at the event — Rafael, Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and UVision — have been completely blocked off behind black walls, which were erected by event organizers on behalf of the French government. French authorities claimed Israel was displaying “offensive” weapons systems in violation of an agreement with the Israeli government.
“Offensive weapons equipment marketed by the firms could not be exhibited, given the situation in Gaza,” said French authorities.
“France considers that this is a terrible situation for the Gazans, a situation from a human and humanitarian point of view, from a security point of view, extremely heavy,” French Prime Minister François Bayrou said during a visit to the air show. “France wanted to demonstrate that offensive weapons should not be present in this show.”
When the four Israeli firms refused to remove the equipment from display, exhibition organizers blocked off the booths in the middle of the night on Sunday, leading into the show’s opening on Monday morning. More barricades were added to close off the entrance to the booths, as shown in videos shared on Facebook by the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD).
“I assure you that we will sue the French government for what they have done to us,” Rafael’s Executive Vice President Shlomo Toaff told Euronews. “We are going to sue them for causing financial damage, for not giving us access to the property that we had rented. We think this is an unjust decision. We’re not getting equal rights like the other exhibitors.”
Israeli defense companies petitioned to a French court earlier this week to reverse the ban on its display of weapons and the blocking of Israeli pavilions at the Paris Air Show, but the court ruled that it does not have the authority to intervene in the decision made by the French government, the IMOD said on Tuesday.
IMOD Director General, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram condemned the “absolutely, bluntly antisemitic” decision by the French government to block Israeli pavilions at the show. He accused France of “commercial exclusion to prevent successful Israeli industries from competing with French ones.”
“It’s regrettable and immoral to see discrimination based on extraneous considerations that mask French economic interests aimed at undermining the competition from the Israeli industry,” Baram said. “The scandalous French decision will achieve the opposite result. Despite the French attempt to harm us, visitors, including heads of state and military leaders from around the world, flocked to the Israeli industry pavilions, proving that Israeli defense systems are more sought-after and attractive than ever. The entire world sees the exceptional achievements of Israeli systems in Iran and other arenas. Battlefield performance speaks for our products far better than any exhibition on French soil.”
Toaff told Euronews that his company rented a booth at the Paris Air Show a year prior, submitted blueprints to event organizers months ago, and the equipment cleared French customs. “We invested a lot of money in getting this booth and a lot of effort in preparing for it. I can’t tell you the exact cost, but we’re talking millions of euros,” said Toaff.
“I was totally disappointed,” Sasson Meshar, senior vice president for Airborne Electro-Optics Systems at Elbit, told Euronews. “We invested a lot of money in the exhibition.”
“We don’t understand the logic of the decision, because from our perspective, it’s discrimination, because everybody around is showing the same systems,” he added. “It’s a defense, military system, and that’s what we are showing. We are not all here for some kind of flower exhibition.”
In a statement on Monday, Israel’s Ministry of Defense accused the French government of “hiding behind supposedly political considerations to exclude Israeli offensive weapons from an international exhibition — weapons that compete with French industries.”
“This is particularly striking given Israeli technologies’ impressive and precise performance in Iran,” the ministry stated, alluding to the Israel-Iran war that started mere days before the Air Show.
US Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders condemned the move by the French government as “pretty absurd,” according to Reuters.
Earlier this month, a court in Paris rejected a request by several companies to ban Israel from this year’s Paris Air Show.
The 55th Paris Air Show runs from Monday through Thursday for trade visitors only, but will open to the general public from Friday through Sunday. The event is organized by SIAE, a subsidiary of the French Aerospace Industries Association (GIFAS). This year’s show included 2,500 exhibitors from 48 countries.
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