TEHRAN — The death toll from joint United States and Israeli military operations against Iran has climbed to 1,045, according to Iranian state media. The conflict, now in its fourth day, saw a significant escalation on Wednesday as US defense officials announced a shift toward “stand-in” precision strikes directly over Iranian territory.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that American and Israeli forces expect to achieve “complete control of Iranian skies” within days. Hegseth further revealed that the US was responsible for sinking an Iranian submarine in the Indian Ocean and claimed the leader of an alleged plot to assassinate President Donald Trump has been killed.
The humanitarian and cultural impact of the strikes has drawn international condemnation. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, accused the US and Israel of a “heinous crime” after missiles damaged the Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Tehran. This follows reports of a strike on an Iranian girls’ school on Saturday that killed more than 160 people, an incident Hegseth stated Washington is currently investigating.
The Vatican has voiced sharp criticism of the military strategy. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, warned that the pursuit of “preventive wars” risks setting the entire world ablaze. Parolin argued that the force of law is being replaced by the “law of force” with the dangerous conviction that peace only follows the total annihilation of an enemy.
Diplomatic tensions have also flared within Europe. Spain has refused to allow US bases on its soil to be used for operations against Iran, prompting threats from President Trump to cut trade ties with Madrid. Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Maria Jesus Montero stated the country would not be “vassals” to Washington, while Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned the conflict could trigger a global disaster.
On the regional front, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a drone swarm attack targeting the Tel Hashomer military base near Tel Aviv, citing it as a response to Israeli aggression in Lebanon. Meanwhile, NATO defenses reportedly destroyed an Iranian missile heading toward Turkish airspace.
Anyone with additional information relating to this story can contact us through email press@townpress.co.za.
Facebook Comments