Iran’s state TV reported on Saturday evening, citing the Red Crescent, that more than 200 people had been killed and 747 people wounded in US and Israel strikes against Iran.
More than 200 people have been killed across Iran by Israel-US strikes, Iran’s state TV reports, citing the Red Crescent.
The Iranian Red Crescent said on Saturday (Feb 28) evening that another 747 people have been wounded in strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran.
The organisation said “24 (of Iran’s 31) provinces were affected and the Red Crescent is in a state of alert”, in a statement published by the ISNA news agency. This is the first official Iranian toll from the strikes.
Earlier in the day, Iran called for an emergency meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog to discuss “baseless” US and Israeli claims against its atomic programme, used as one of several justifications for the military action against it.
“In light of ongoing acts of aggression by the US and Israeli regimes … (Iran) called for an urgent extraordinary meeting” of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors, Iran’s mission to the Vienna-based agency said on X above an image of its formal request letter.
“Baseless claims, vicious threats and wrongful acts of aggressors against Iran’s peaceful nuclear program shall be addressed by the Board immediately,” it added.
UN CHIEF CONDEMNS ESCALATION
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres condemned the “escalation” in the Middle East after US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
“I call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement, saying the attacks – including Iran’s retaliation – undermine international peace and security.
The Secretary-General is due to deliver further remarks at a Security Council meeting in New York later in the day.
France, China, Russia, Bahrain and Colombia each led a push for the extraordinary Saturday meeting, according to a diplomatic source.
The Russian mission to the UN said it made the request over “the unprovoked act of armed aggression by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“During the Security Council meeting, we will demand from the United States and Israel to immediately cease their illegal and escalatory actions and embark on a path toward a political and diplomatic settlement,” it added in a statement.
“ILLEGAL AGGRESSION”
In a letter to the United Nations, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on the Security Council to take “immediate” steps to halt what it said was an illegal aggression by the United States and Israel.
Araghchi said the council must “address the US and Israeli regime’s acts of aggression” and “take the necessary and immediate measures to halt this unlawful use of force.”
