Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

Iran's Forensic Agency IDs 3,375 Killed in US-Israeli Airstrikes


(MENAFN) Iran's Legal Medicine Organization has formally identified 3,375 people killed in US-Israeli airstrikes through scientific forensic analysis, a state broadcaster reported Sunday, offering the most precise casualty accounting since the conflict erupted in late February.

Abbas Masjedi Arani, head of the organization, disclosed that the confirmed deaths — recorded between Feb. 28 and April 7 — comprised 2,875 men and 496 women, with no details provided on the remaining four fatalities.

The toll carried an international dimension. Arani confirmed that foreign nationals were among those killed, with victims traced to Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, China, Iraq, and Lebanon, though he stopped short of providing a precise foreign casualty count. Identifications were conducted through advanced forensic procedures by the state-affiliated body, he added.

A Conflict That Reshaped the Region
The US and Israel launched a coordinated offensive against Iran on Feb. 28, a campaign that in its opening strikes killed dozens of senior military commanders — among them then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The assault triggered swift and sweeping retaliation from Tehran, which launched drone and missile strikes against Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf states hosting US military installations. Iran simultaneously moved to restrict maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil and gas flows.

Pakistan stepped in to broker a two-week ceasefire earlier this week, briefly raising hopes of a diplomatic off-ramp.

Those hopes dimmed sharply on Saturday, when US and Iranian delegations met in the Pakistani capital Islamabad but left without reaching any agreement — leaving the fragile truce and the broader conflict's trajectory deeply uncertain.

With the death toll now confirmed in the thousands and diplomatic talks stalled, pressure is mounting on both sides to return to the negotiating table before the ceasefire collapses entirely.

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