Iran Conflict: Death Toll Rises to 555 After US-Israeli Strikes
The Iranian Red Crescent reported on Monday that the death toll from U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran since Saturday has tragically escalated to 555 fatalities.
The joint attacks targeted 131 residential areas across Iran, according to a statement from the Iranian Red Crescent cited by the Fars News Agency. The statement confirmed the 555 casualties but did not provide statistics on the number of injured.
Rising Casualties and High-Profile Deaths
The latest casualty count represents a significant increase from the 201 dead and 747 injured announced by the Iranian Red Crescent on Saturday.
A joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign, launched against Iran on Saturday, has reportedly resulted in the deaths of several senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In response, Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, U.S. assets, and Gulf countries.
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Iran Warns of "Deep and Widespread" Consequences
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, has issued a stark warning that the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, particularly the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, will have “deep and widespread” consequences. He asserted that the responsibility for these actions “lies solely with the perpetrators.”
These remarks were made in a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council. This communication followed just a day after the United States and Israel initiated strikes on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, leading to the death of the country’s top leader, as reported by the official news agency IRNA.
Violation of International Law Alleged
Araghchi stated that in a series of “aggressive, unprovoked and unjustified” attacks against Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity on Saturday, the United States and Israel “deliberately” targeted the highest-ranking official of an independent UN member state.
He condemned the attack as a “cowardly terrorist action” and “a direct attack on the most fundamental principles of international law, including the prohibition of the use of force, the sovereign equality of states, and the inviolability and immunity of heads of state.” Such an action, he warned, creates “a precarious and unprecedented practice that would target fundamental norms of state sovereignty and civilised behaviour among nations” and will cause “dangerous unforeseen problems.”
In the letter, Araghchi also underscored Iran’s inherent and inalienable right to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and people under the UN Charter.