The series of American and Israeli attacks on Iran is persisting, in which around fifteen hundred civilians have been killed, while during this time Iran has also sustained its retaliatory actions, due to which the ongoing tension in the Middle East has taken the form of a grave humanitarian tragedy. The unfortunate fact is that with every passing day, in addition to the mounting loss of lives on both sides, substantial economic losses are also occurring, which will have far-reaching effects.
Twenty individuals who were cooperating with Israel’s covert agents in Iran have been arrested. According to the statement of the prosecutor of Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, the arrested individuals are accused of providing Israel with precise details of the locations of Iran’s military and security installations. The prosecutor’s statement said that “several networks working together with the Zionist enemy were targeted, which also included information about military, law-enforcement and security locations, and the suspects were arrested under a judicial directive.”
According to a report by Reuters, Israel has started a new phase of attacks on Iran, in which security check posts are being targeted on the basis of ground intelligence. During this time, swift retaliatory actions from Iran are also continuing, which include missile and drone attacks on the Al Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has claimed that it used ten missiles and several drones to strike American forces.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has also announced that it will target Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, and if he is alive he will be relentlessly pursued and killed. According to Iranian media, the Revolutionary Guards said, “If the criminal Netanyahu, the killer of children, is alive, we will find him and eliminate him with full force.”
Iran’s industrial and military centers are continuously facing attacks from Israel and the United States, especially in Isfahan where several factories and military installations have been struck. Isfahan is among the most densely populated cities of the country and industrial and military complexes are present there. According to the report, several civilians were killed in Isfahan and residential areas were partially or completely devastated.
Similarly, in Shiraz as well, residential areas have suffered extensive damage as a result of American and Israeli attacks. According to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, “the Zionist American criminal government carried out a terrorist and inhumane attack on a residential and underprivileged area of Shiraz.” The report further said that as a result of the attack residential houses were completely destroyed and citizens suffered heavy financial losses. Shiraz is a city of historic and cultural significance, which also contains the Eram Garden included in the UNESCO list.
On the other hand, US President Donald Trump, while talking to the media, said that Iran is prepared for a ceasefire but he is still not ready for any agreement because the “conditions from Iran are not yet reasonably acceptable.” Trump said that he is coordinating plans with other countries for the protection of the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump admitted that he cannot say with certainty whether Mojtaba Khamenei is alive or dead.
The actions by the United States and Israel against Iran have been continuing since last month, in which American and Israeli forces carried out joint strikes and Iran also carried out retaliatory attacks. So far 13 American personnel have been killed, of which 6 soldiers died in a refueling aircraft accident. Trump said that most of Iran’s missile and drone production sites have been destroyed and within a few days its military power will be almost entirely dismantled.
As a result of these attacks, a large number of civilians in Iran’s Fars province, West Azerbaijan and Isfahan have been affected, while hospitals, schools and Red Crescent centers are also coming under attack. Iranian officials have made it clear that they will continue their actions in response to American and Israeli attacks. According to analysts, in the current situation expecting any conciliatory approach from Iran would be futile, because the country is perceiving its national security and existence in danger and this time it wants a permanent resolution rather than a ceasefire. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has announced that the war will continue for as long as necessary, which is raising questions over American claims that this war could end soon.
The Iran war has further made this harsh reality clearer that in the world perhaps no other creature has inflicted as much harm on members of its own kind as humans are inflicting on other humans. It should be clear that as a result of the American and Israeli attacks and Iran’s retaliatory attacks, the greatest suffering is being borne by ordinary civilians who in large numbers have been killed, injured and displaced, whose swift rehabilitation is extremely necessary.
