Since the first day of the US–Israeli war on Iran, the country’s official media outlets have avoided reporting the real number of casualties, whether killed or wounded. They also refrain from discussing the scale of material losses and damage. Meanwhile, security agencies have imposed strict restrictions on the independent local press and are pursuing citizens who leak videos and photos on social media. As a result, gathering information about the number of victims and the damage to civilian facilities and urban life has become extremely difficult.
The few media reports circulating on the issue rely on restricted and limited information, often left without updates for long hours despite continued attacks. The main sources of such information are eyewitnesses, doctors, paramedics, social media users, and civil society activists. Yet these accounts remain imprecise and do not fully reflect the reality on the ground.
Given the security-driven nature of the regime’s institutions, including the media, and the impossibility for any outlet to access targeted sites, these reports do not mention casualties among military forces. This is despite the fact that attacks on military bases and facilities have continued for ten days, and despite circulating reports suggesting that the number of military casualties is high. Instead, some reports use vague wording such as “Individuals were killed near military targets,” without specifying who those individuals were.
In addition to the security restrictions, the ongoing airstrikes, the damage to infrastructure, and the resulting disruptions to communications and internet access further limit the ability of sources to collect information and document events. The difficulty of accessing medical reports and verifying the identities of the dead also prevents an accurate estimate of casualty figures.
Regarding human losses, spokespersons for the government announce only a very small number of casualties each day, even though leaked videos and images show massive destruction of residential buildings in cities and community areas across the country.
Accordingly, the preliminary map currently available regarding the number of those killed and wounded, both civilians and military personnel, is as follows:
Number of deaths:
Civilians: 1,245 killed.
Military personnel: 189 killed.
Paramedics: 11 killed.
Unidentified victims: 327 killed.
Among the dead are 386 people under the age of eighteen, including 200 women. The victims’ ages range from an eight-month-old infant to elderly people in their nineties.
Number of injured:
12,000 injured.
1,410 women.
700 injured under the age of eighteen.
60 injured under the age of five.
40 paramedics and rescue workers.
Tehran Province tops the list of areas targeted by attacks, accounting for approximately 34 percent, followed by Hormozgan Province at 10 percent, then Isfahan at 8 percent, and Kermanshah at 6 percent. Western provinces, as well as Khuzestan and Alborz, rank lower.
Since the beginning of the war, 124 targets or military facilities have been identified as either struck or damaged. These include bases belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij, army barracks, and headquarters of border guards and police forces.
Civilian facilities damaged by the bombardment number 9,669, including 7,943 residential units and more than 1,617 commercial establishments. The attacks also damaged 32 medical and treatment centers and 65 schools. Nine hospitals have completely ceased operating. Thirteen centers affiliated with the Iranian Red Crescent were damaged, and the organization lost 15 rescue vehicles and 13 ambulances.
The list of damaged sites also includes oil depots in Tehran, Karaj, and Kermanshah; water desalination plants in several cities; sports stadiums; religious schools; government institutions; tourist hotels; traditional markets; and historical landmarks such as Golestan Palace in Tehran.
Under international law, civilian facilities are considered essential infrastructure for the safety and survival of civilian populations. Attacks against them are regarded as violations of human rights. This principle also applies to oil facilities because of the severe environmental and health consequences their destruction can cause in populated areas, particularly in a densely inhabited city such as Tehran, which has more than ten million residents.
Reports on the aftermath of explosions at oil storage tanks in Tehran and Karaj indicate that burning fuel released large amounts of smoke and pollutants into the air. Massive columns of smoke and flames were seen rising from the sites and covering the sky above the area. Fires continued burning in some tanks until the following day, while a layer of black smoke spread across different parts of both cities. Residents reported a shower of black particles settling on the surfaces of cars and buildings.
Some doctors in Tehran have expressed concern about a rise in respiratory problems among residents, alongside fears of deteriorating air quality. Tehran already suffers from a chronic pollution crisis.
At the same time, the network for transporting and distributing petroleum products in Tehran and Alborz provinces has been damaged. Although the exact scale of the damage has not been officially announced, authorities have introduced fuel-rationing measures in the capital. Tehran Governor Mohammad Sadeq Motamedian announced that the daily fuel quota would be reduced from 30 liters to 20 liters. This decision has directly affected residents’ mobility within and out of Tehran. Long queues were seen forming at petrol stations for hours as families attempted to move to safer areas.
Meanwhile, several Iranian cities have experienced unprecedented waves of heavy US–Israeli airstrikes. This coincided with statements by US President Donald Trump claiming that “the United States has achieved its objectives in the war and that it will not last long.”
The most intense attacks were recorded in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, Zanjan, Tabriz, Arak, Bushehr, Bandar Lengeh, and Qeshm Island. Witnesses reported that the strikes in the cities of Karaj and Arak targeted residential neighborhoods, while no official or unofficial source has yet disclosed the human toll of those attacks.
On the other hand, reports indicate that beyond killing dozens of civilians, the war has also struck at Iranians’ livelihoods and worsened the rising cost of living. One Iranian wrote on social media: “Empty dinner tables have ignited a silent war. In just ten days, the prices of the most basic necessities for survival, such as eggs and potatoes, have doubled. The suffering of a father who, amid the anxiety of war, cannot buy a simple meal for his family is no less painful than dying under the rubble.”
A woman from Tehran described the situation of Iranians on her social media page as that of “the most isolated and powerless people on earth.” She wrote: “We live with conflicting emotions. On the one hand, we feel joy at the fall of the dictator; his death has opened a window of hope that did not exist before. The killing of Revolutionary Guard commanders cannot be described as something unfortunate; for many, it is extremely welcome. But on the other hand, the city to which we are tied by years of memories is being destroyed before our eyes.”
Comments from others reveal that the atmosphere in the targeted Iranian cities is extremely frightening. Because of communication outages, residents can no longer receive evacuation warnings or check on relatives and acquaintances. They know nothing about the damage except what they witness themselves, and they only learn who has been killed or injured among those they see around them. Fear has reached such a level that some have begun to believe the regime might bomb civilians at any moment and blame it on its enemies. Yet many are still trying to cling to life with all their strength. They understand that war will not deliver democracy to them on a silver platter; toppling the regime will not be easy. But they believe it will significantly weaken it, which is why, as they say, they remain cautiously hopeful.
