Israeli strikes in Iran have killed at least 406 people and wounded 654, a human rights group said, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The Iranian government has not yet released a total death toll from the Israeli strikes that decimated the country’s military leadership and targeted its nuclear facilities. Some officials have given partial and unrelated figures.
The Human Rights Activists organization, which also published casualty figures during the 2022 anti-government protests in Iran, is comparing local reports inside the Islamic Republic with a network of sources it has developed inside the country.
According to the organization’s data so far, at least 197 civilians, 90 military personnel and 119 unidentified people were among the dead. The wounded include 100 civilians, 71 soldiers and 483 other people whose identities have not been confirmed.
Iranian President Criticizes Western Countries
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian criticized the United States and some Western countries for their support for Israeli attacks on Iran.
He said that if Israeli attacks continue, Iranian responses will be “more decisive and fiercer”.
Pezeshkian stressed that Israel “is not capable of any action without US permission” and that “what we are witnessing today was carried out with the direct support of Washington”.
In a report broadcast on state television, Pezeshkian said Iran has never sought war and conflict.
“However, as our armed forces, including the powerful army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have so far provided appropriate and decisive responses, in the event of continued hostile actions, these responses will be even more decisive and fierce.”
