Over 400 killed in Iran since start of conflict
21 June 2025 18:22
(AGENCIES)Iran's Ministry of Health announced that more than 400 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since June 13 due to ongoing Israeli strikes.Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour stated that, as of this morning, Israeli attacks have claimed the lives of over 400 Iranians and injured 3,056 others.
Meanwhile, Israel announced on Saturday that it had eliminated three senior figures of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Israel-Iran Conflict
Continue full coverage
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
14 minutes ago
- The National
Iran has backed itself into a corner in the conflict with Israel and the US
The continuing standoff between Iran on one side and a US-backed Israel on the other is happening not just in military terms but also in the realm of representation. The warring parties are performing in the battlefield and in the public domain. The latter acts as a window that reveals both political and military strengths and weaknesses, giving a glimpse of the course this war is likely to take. Military developments as well as public messaging strongly indicate that Iran is fighting a losing battle. Israel is framing its attacks on Iran as being about self-defence; presenting the Iranian population with an opportunity for freedom; and saving the world from the threat posed by Tehran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly urged the Iranian people to rise up against the establishment, casting Israel as their external liberator. But his framing of Iran as a threat to the world transforms the war from a bilateral issue into a global matter. This framing was echoed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who described Israel's attacks as 'dirty work Israel is doing for all of us', with 'us' here referring to Israel's allies but also the world at large. Such a characterisation of the attacks on Iran is meant to serve as an endorsement of their legitimacy and necessity, standing in stark contrast to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, which many countries in and outside the West publicly condemned as illegal. Though Israel's attacks are presented as being for the sake of global security, it is the US that has taken ownership of the overall narrative of the war. Even if Washington does not directly intervene in the war militarily, President Donald Trump has presented the US as its agenda setter. He has called on Iran to surrender, insinuated that the life of its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is in the US's hands, and said that 'we have complete and total control of the skies over Iran'. Tehran appeared to regard the chances of US intervention against Iran's nuclear facilities to be unlikely despite Mr Trump's repeated affirmations that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons During the Israel-Hezbollah war, the Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, gained prominence for issuing orders to Lebanese residents to "evacuate" their homes ahead of Israeli strikes, leading many commentators to say that Mr Adraee had become the de facto leader in those areas. Mr Trump is playing a similar role in his call for the residents of Tehran to 'evacuate'. The statements by Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu are not incidental. They are crafted to send a message to Tehran's ruling class that it is the US and Israel that are in charge in Iran. This is an example of psychological warfare amplified by the tools of the digital age, where such statements are not only repeated in the media but also go viral. Mr Trump has also played on the blindness of the Iranian regime regarding the position of the US towards Iran. Tehran appeared to regard the chances of US intervention against Iran's nuclear facilities to be unlikely despite Mr Trump's repeated affirmations that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. Mr Trump's 'I may do it; I may not do it' statement about direct US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites serves as a tool to undermine the Iranian establishment's self-belief. The messages from the US and Israel have also caused a notable shift in Hezbollah's public discourse. Following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Hezbollah swiftly declared that it would join Hamas in what the Lebanese group called 'the war of assistance'. For several months, Hezbollah kept issuing messages of defiance through its various communication channels and the speeches of its then-leader Hassan Nasrallah. The present situation is rather different. When Israel began attacking Iran earlier this month, Hezbollah was quick to issue a statement saying the group would not initiate an attack on Israel in the course of the war. The choice of language was for the group to try to save face in justifying its inability to support Iran militarily against Israel. Iran is left alone in trying to save itself and its reputation. While the Islamic Republic's rise is commonly associated with the notion of revolution, Tehran has, from the beginning, also adopted a framework of victimisation as a core part of its identity. As early as 1979, Iran's rulers presented the country as a victim of US imperialism, saying that resistance against this American project was a key mission for the republic. Such framing has not gone away. Iran continues to call the US 'the Great Satan' and justifies much of its foreign interventions in terms of countering what it regards as American evil. Having adopted this rigid framing of the US for almost five decades, Tehran has backed itself into a corner. Being seen to compromise in the face of American pressure means losing the credibility that the Iranian establishment has cultivated in the eyes of its supporters both domestically and regionally. This is why Mr Khamenei's response to Mr Trump's call for Iran to surrender has been to recycle the same tired trope of 'this nation is not one to surrender'. Some observers are making comparisons between the current war Iran is fighting and the Iran-Iraq War, which ended in 1988 when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini reluctantly accepted that Tehran had no choice but to 'drink the poisoned chalice'. There is speculation whether Iran will eventually follow a similar scenario regarding Israel. But for Iran, Israel is the US-backed 'Little Satan'. There can be no compromise as far as Iran's ruling class is concerned because this would mean losing its raison d'etre. If the end game is defeat either way, the regime would rather face it as a victim than as a quitter.
Gulf Today
20 minutes ago
- Gulf Today
Pro-Palestinian activist Khalil walks free after US judge orders release
Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil walked out of a Louisiana immigrant detention centre on Friday, hours after a judge ordered his release, a major victory for rights groups that challenged what they called the Trump administration's unlawful targeting of a pro-Palestinian activist. "Although justice prevailed," he said upon his release in the rural town of Jena, "it's long, very long overdue. And this shouldn't have taken three months." On March 8 Khalil, a prominent figure in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's war in Gaza, was arrested by immigration agents in the lobby of his university residence in Manhattan. President Donald Trump, a Republican, has called the protests antisemitic and vowed to deport foreign students who took part. Khalil became the first target of this policy. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly conflates their criticism of Israeli actions in Gaza with antisemitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism. After hearing oral arguments from lawyers for Khalil and the Department of Homeland Security, US District Judge Michael Farbiarz of Newark, New Jersey, ordered DHS to release him from custody at a jail for immigrants in rural Louisiana by 6:30pm (2330 GMT) on Friday. Farbiarz said the government had made no attempt to rebut evidence provided by Khalil's lawyers that he was not a flight risk or a danger to the public. "There is at least something to the underlying claim that there is an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish the petitioner," Farbiarz said, referring to Khalil as he ruled from the bench, adding that punishing someone over a civil immigration matter was unconstitutional. Khalil is the latest in a string of foreign pro-Palestinian students arrested in the US since in March who have subsequently been released by judges. They include Mohsen Mahdawi and Rumeysya Ozturk. A legal permanent resident of the US, Khalil says he is being punished for his political speech, in violation of the Constitution's First Amendment. Khalil condemned antisemitism and racism in interviews with CNN and other news outlets last year. Reuters
Gulf Today
20 minutes ago
- Gulf Today
Tens of thousands join pro-Palestinian marches in London and Berlin
Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched in London and Berlin on Saturday calling for an end to the war in Gaza, amid concerns that the Iran-Israel conflict could spark wider regional devastation. Protesters in the British capital waved Palestinian flags, donned keffiyeh scarves and carried signs including "Stop arming Israel" and "No war on Iran" as they marched in the sweltering heat. "It's important to remember that people are suffering in Gaza. I fear all the focus will be on Iran now," said 34-year-old Harry Baker, attending his third pro-Palestinian protest. "I don't have great love for the Iranian regime, but we are now in a dangerous situation," he added. There have been monthly protests in the British capital since the start of the 20-month-long war between Israel and Hamas, which has ravaged Gaza. Demonstrators protest against conditions in Gaza and to impose sanctions against Israel and against arms shipments in front of the Reichstag building. Reuters Saturday's march comes amid heightened global tensions as the United States mulls joining Israel's strikes against Iran. Cries of "Palestine will be free" rang out as protesters carried signs saying "Hands off Gaza" or "Stop starving Gaza." Gaza is suffering from famine-like conditions according to UN agencies in the region following an Israeli aid blockade. Gaza's civil defence agency has reported that hundreds have been killed by Israeli forces while trying to reach the US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution sites. Protesters wave Palestinian and Iranian flags as they take part in a march through central London on Saturday. AFP "People need to keep their eyes on Gaza. That's where the genocide is happening," said 60-year-old protester Nicky Marcus. "I feel frustrated, angry because of what's happening in Gaza," said 31-year-old data analyst Jose Diaz. "It's in everyone's eyes. It's still on after so many months," Diaz added. 'Scared' The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out has reached at least 55,637 people, according to the health ministry. A 31-year-old Iranian student who did not want to share her name, told AFP she had family in Iran and was "scared". "I'm worried about my country. I know the regime is not good but it's still my country. I'm scared," she said. Tehran said over 400 people have been killed in Iran since Israel launched strikes last week claiming its arch-foe was close to acquiring a nuclear weapon, which Iran denies. Some 25 people have been killed in Israel, according to official figures. In Berlin, more than 10,000 people gathered in the centre of the city in support of Gaza, according to police figures. "You can't sit on the sofa and be silent. Now is the time when we all need to speak up," said protestor Gundula, who did not want to give her second name. "Germany finances, Israel bombs" was among the chants from the crowd, which gathered mid-afternoon close to the German parliament. For Marwan Radwan, the point of the protest was to bring attention to the "genocide currently taking place" and the "dirty work" being done by the German government. Agence France-Presse
