Iran says over 400 killed, 3,056 injured since start of war with Israel
- Last updated: June 21, 2025 | 17:43
Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people since they began last week, Iran's health ministry said in an updated toll on Saturday, as fighting raged between the two foes.
"As of this morning, Israeli attacks have claimed the lives of over 400 defenseless Iranians and left 3,056 others wounded by missiles and drones," health ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said in a post on X.
US-based NGO, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, said on Friday that based on its sources and media reports, at least 657 people have been killed in Iran, including 263 civilians.
Several "powerful explosions" were heard in the afternoon in southwestern Iran's Ahvaz, the daily Shargh reported, as Israel's military said it was conducting strikes on "military infrastructure" in the area.
Ahvaz is the capital of Khuzestan province, which lies on the Iraqi border and is Iran's main oil-producing region.
"Fighter jets are currently striking military infrastructure in southwestern Iran," the Israeli military said in a statement.
Earlier, Israeli rescue services said an Iranian "drone strike hit a two-storey residential building in northern Israel" following a wave of attacks reported by the military.
At least 19 people were injured in Haifa the day before following a strike on a building by the city's docks.
Israel targeted "two centrifuge production sites" at Iran's Isfahan nuclear facility overnight in a second wave of strikes on the location since the start of the war, a military official said.
"Isfahan we targeted in the first 24 hours of our operation, but we carried out a second wave of strikes there overnight, deepening our achievements and advancing the damage to the facility," the military official told reporters during a briefing on condition of anonymity.
The repeated raids by the Israeli air force have "dealt a severe blow to Iran's centrifuge production capabilities", the official added.
Police in Iran's Qom province said 22 people "linked to Israeli spy services" had been arrested since June 13.
Citing the head of police intelligence in Iran's Qom province, the Fars news agency reported that "22 people were identified and arrested on charges of being linked to the Zionist regime's spy services, disturbing public opinion and supporting the criminal regime".
A European national was also arrested for alleged spying, the Tasnim news agency reported on Friday, without giving their nationality or the date of the arrest.
Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said at least 223 people have been arrested nationwide on charges related to collaboration with Israel, cautioning that the actual figure was likely higher.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Istanbul, Tasnim reported, for a meeting with regional diplomats to discuss Tehran's conflict with Israel.
Around 40 diplomats are due to join the weekend gathering of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, as Israel and Iran continue to exchange attacks.
"At this meeting, at the suggestion of Iran, the issue of the Zionist regime's attack on our country will be specifically addressed," Araghchi said, according to the news agency.
Agence France-Presse