More than 200 people killed in Iran: State media

TEHRAN

Iran’s Red Crescent says Israeli-U.S. airstrikes across Iran have killed 201 people and injured 747, according to comments on Iranian state TV.

The spokesperson for the Red Crescent said the strikes have hit 24 of Iran’s 31 provinces. The spokesperson said relief operations are ongoing, and that 220 teams were deployed to different sites to respond to the strikes.

Meanwhile, in southern Iran, at least 85 people were reported killed when a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, the local governor told Iranian state TV.

Iran on Saturday accused the U.S. and Israel of military aggression, calling the strikes a violation of its sovereignty and a breach of Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the attacks targeted defense infrastructure and civilian sites in multiple cities and took place while Tehran and Washington were engaged in a diplomatic process.

It stressed that Iran had prioritized diplomacy to prevent war but “the time has now come to defend the homeland,” and that the armed forces would respond in a “decisive and powerful manner.”

Tehran asserted its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter and called on the U.N. Security Council and the international community to condemn the joint U.S.-Israeli attack and take urgent action.