Philippines seeks guarantee of safe tanker passage from Iran

As the regional conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States escalates, Iran’s state broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), has undergone a marked transformation in tone and language.

In a segment of a program on Iran’s state broadcaster, presenter Mohammad Jafar Khosravi acknowledged that officials are hiding in safe houses among ordinary citizens and urged the public not to reveal their locations, warning that otherwise they would be “finished” and targeted.

Alongside this shift, dehumanizing language toward foreign adversaries has become increasingly common. Following intensified strikes in late February, IRIB hosts and commentators repeatedly described Israeli officials as “rabid dogs,” portraying them as threats that must be eliminated.

The escalation in tone extends beyond broadcast television. On social media platform X, IRIB presenters have engaged in increasingly personal exchanges with Israeli officials.

Figures such as Ameneh Saadat Zabihpour and Ali Rezvani, both sanctioned by the United States in 2022 as "Interrogator Journalists", have traded insults with Israeli spokespersons, with some interactions descending into personal attacks, religious provocation, and inflammatory rhetoric.

"After blunt death threats by the Revolutionary Guard, aired on State TV and the televised intimidation of the women's football team, State TV presenters are openly calling for the murder of the people of Iran," the Iranian Independent Filmmakers Association (IIFMA) said in a post on its Instagram.

"The recent calls for 'shoot-to-kill' verdicts make the broadcaster an instrument of direct attack on a population already reeling from the violent suppression of January uprising," the Association said last month.

Iran is losing its grip on allied militias in Iraq as weakening leadership within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has reduced its ability to restrain them, The War Zone reported on Thursday.

Citing a former US special operations member recently in Iraq, the report said Iranian-backed groups have stepped up attacks on US interests as Tehran’s control over them has eroded. For years, militias such as Kataib Hezbollah operated under IRGC oversight, which provided funding, weapons and command while keeping their actions in check.

But sustained damage to the IRGC during ongoing military operations has “unleashed the shackles” on these groups, allowing them to act more independently, the source said. The report links the shift to a recent spike in attacks on US and coalition targets in Iraq.

Recent US intelligence assessments show roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers remain intact and thousands of one-way attack drones are still in its arsenal despite weeks of US and Israeli strikes, CNN reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the findings.

"Thousands of Iranian drones still exist — roughly 50% of the country’s drone capabilities — two of the sources said the intelligence indicated," the report said.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday Australia is not taking offensive action against Iran or deploying ground troops, while supporting de-escalation after joining over 40 countries in talks on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

"Iran is deliberately inflicting economic pain on communities worldwide, including the Indo-Pacific, with the costs borne disproportionately by the most vulnerable. Australia joined partners in condemning the Iranian regime’s weaponization of the Strait of Hormuz," Wong posted on X.

US Central Command said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claim that it downed an “enemy” fighter jet over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz is false, adding that all US aircraft are accounted for.