The US and Israel launched an attack of unprecedented scale against Iran on Saturday, reportedly killing more than 200 people, with Tehran launching a retaliatory missile barrage that sent people running for cover across the Middle East.
READ ALSO: UN Secretary General Condemns Mideast ‘Escalation’ As Security Council To Meet
Iranian authorities urged residents to evacuate the capital, a city of 10 million, while the country’s Red Crescent society said that in addition to the 201 dead, more than 700 people were wounded.
The Iranian judiciary claimed that an attack that hit a school in the south killed 85 people, although AFP was unable to access the site in order to verify the toll.
UAE Hit
Meanwhile, the UAE reported one civilian dead and damage from missiles in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as blasts from Tehran’s retaliatory salvo and air defences intercepting it also echoed over Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, and Kuwait.
In weeks of sabre-rattling leading up to the strikes, Tehran had repeatedly vowed to retaliate fiercely if attacked, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi argued on Saturday that US and Israeli installations involved in the operation were “legitimate targets”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards radioed ships to say the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway, was shut, according to the EU’s naval mission.
Plumes of black smoke hung over Tehran, including in the Pasteur district, home to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel’s public broadcaster, citing an Israeli source, reported Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian had been targeted.
But Araghchi told NBC News that Khamenei was alive “as far as I know”, adding that “all high ranking officials are alive”.
Asked about Khamenei’s health, foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei told the BBC he was “not in a situation to confirm anything”, but “the whole system, the whole nation is focused on defending (our) national integrity”.
An Israeli military official said several senior figures were “eliminated” in strikes on gatherings of Iranian officials.
‘Barbaric‘
Tehran residents had been going about their usual business when the strikes began.
