1,255 killed in US-Israeli strikes, mostly civilians: Iran

Iranian Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian has said United States-Israeli attacks across his country have killed and wounded mostly civilians and the bombardment on oil facilities has caused toxic smoke to spread across the capital, Tehran.

Speaking to global media outlet Al Jazeera on Monday, March 9, Jafarian said at least 1,255 people have been killed in Iran, including 200 children and 11 healthcare workers. Their ages ranged from eight months to 88 years.

Insisting that most of the victims were civilians, Jafarian said: "They were living in their homes or at their workplace."

More than 12,000 people have also been wounded, mostly from burns and crush injuries, he added. Twenty-nine clinical facilities have so far been damaged and 10 of them were forced to shut down, Jafarian continued. Additionally, 52 health centres, 18 emergency services locations and 15 ambulances have also been damaged or destroyed.

Jafarian warned of health risks for the population after Israeli air attacks hit Iran's oil facilities late on Saturday for the first time since the war started, killing at least four people.

"The whole city was dark until the afternoon yesterday," he said, referring to thick smoke that filled the sky over Tehran.

The attacks sparked large fires as they hit the Aghdasieh oil warehouse in northeastern Tehran, the Tehran refinery in the south and the Shahran oil depot in western Tehran.

Israel said it struck "a number of fuel storage facilities in Tehran" that were used "to operate military infrastructure".

The minister warned that this may cause respiratory problems to those most vulnerable, including children and the elderly, and advised residents to stay at home with windows shut. He also said acid rain would pollute the soil and have a lasting environmental impact. "And this is not a military issue. ... This is not a military target," he argued.

Jafarian said more than 200 cities have been hit across Iran since the attacks began on February 28 and insisted that the targets were mostly civilian.

The US and Israel continued to bombard Iran on Monday with explosions reported in Qom and Tehran. US and Israeli officials said the war could last a month or longer as analysts saw no clear path for de-escalation in the near future.