Iran’s UN envoy says 1,332 Iranian civilians killed in war
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Iranians during the funeral ceremony of the victims of an airstrike on a girls school in the city of Minab, southern Iran, on March 3.
PHOTO: EPA
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Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani on March 6 that at least 1,332 Iranian civilians have died so far in the conflict with Israel and the US, and that thousands more have been injured.
Speaking to reporters at the United Nations in New York, he asserted that the US and Israel had deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure, while Iran had targeted military sites, not civilians.
The US and Israel have said the opposite is the case.
Mr Iravani said Iran was also not targeting the interests of neighbouring states and was investigating allegations that it had struck non-military sites.
“Our initial assessment indicates that some of these incidents may have resulted from the interceptions or interference by the United States defence system, which could have diverted from intended military targets,” he said.
US President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” on March 6 and said its new Supreme Leader must be “acceptable”, after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the war’s first day. Mr Trump told Reuters in an interview on March 5 that he must have a say in the selection.
Mr Iravani called Mr Trump’s statement “a clear violation of the principles of non interference in the internal affairs of states, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations”.
“The selection of Iran’s leadership will take place strictly in accordance with our constitutional procedures and solely by the will of the Iranian people without any foreign interference,” he added.
Hours after Mr Trump’s comments, Iran’s president announced that unspecified countries had begun mediation efforts, one of the first signals of any diplomatic initiative to end the conflict.
Two US officials told Reuters American investigators believe it is likely US forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed scores of children on March 1,
