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There was no immediate confirmation from Iranian authorities regarding the authenticity of the footage or whether IRIB had been compromised.
By Shula Rosen
An Iranian television channel was reportedly disrupted by a suspected cyberattack on Monday, interrupting a regular broadcast with political messaging calling on Iranians to rise against the regime, amid ongoing US-Israeli military operations against Tehran.
Footage circulating on social media showed what appeared to be a broadcast from IRIB TV3, an Iranian state channel that typically airs football programming, abruptly replaced by a split-screen video lasting about 36 seconds.
The clip showed US President Donald Trump speaking at a podium with an American flag, wearing a “USA” cap, alongside Persian-language subtitles urging Iranians to oppose the government and warning of continued military action.
The video was uploaded March 2, 2026, by the Russian-linked @RT_com account on X.
TRUMP & NETANYAHU HACK IRAN TV THEN SPEECH BLACKOUT — REPORTS pic.twitter.com/7ifyW2SSt3
— RT (@RT_com) March 2, 2026
@RT_com said the footage was unverified and cited pro-Israel activist Aviva Klompas and online commentator Dom Lucre as the original sources. The post described the incident as a cyberhack and claimed the broadcast disruption was followed by a blackout.
There was no immediate confirmation from Iranian authorities regarding the authenticity of the footage or whether IRIB had been compromised. The circumstances surrounding the apparent interruption remained unclear.
The reported incident came amid major US-Israeli strikes on Iran that Iranian state television said killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and about 40 senior officials. The strikes followed an announcement by Trump confirming the operation.
In a post on Truth Social following reports of Khamenei’s death, Trump wrote that the Iranian leader was “one of the most evil people in history,” framing the killing as retribution.
“This is not only Justice for the people of Iran,” Trump wrote, “but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS.”
Before Iranian state media confirmed Khamenei’s death, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that recent Israeli and US strikes may have killed Iran’s supreme leader and urged Iranians to take to the streets and “finish the job.”
Netanyahu said there were many indications that Khamenei “is no longer,” stopping short of explicit confirmation.
The reported broadcast disruption was described as part of broader cyberoperations targeting Iranian communications, including a separate reported hack of a popular Iranian prayer app used to urge military defections.
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