Iran death toll reaches 555 as US, Israel escalate attacks

Civilian deaths are growing as more attacks are reported in the capital and other parts of the country.Published On 2 Mar 2026At least 555 people have been killed in US-Israeli strikes across 131 counties in Iran, the Iranian Red Crescent Society says, amid another wave of intensive attacks and Iranian counterstrikes on Israel and US assets in the Middle East region.At least 35 people were killed on Monday morning in southern Iran’s Fars province, according to the Mehr news agency. The outlet also reported more than 20 people killed in an attack on Niloofar Square in Tehran.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3After Iran’s salvo hit their skylines, will Gulf states enter the war?list 2 of 3‘We won’t negotiate with US’, says Iran amid continued US-Israeli attackslist 3 of 3Al Jazeera reports from Beirut as residents flee following Israeli strikesend of listThe Fars news agency said at least two people were killed in the central city of Sanandaj as several residential buildings next to the city’s police station were destroyed. The Tasnim news agency said US and Israeli forces dropped six missiles on different parts of the city, including densely populated neighbourhoods.Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, told reporters that US-Israeli air strikes had targeted Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site on Sunday.“Their justification that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons is simply a big lie,” Najafi said, describing the facility as “peaceful”.Israel and the US have not issued any statements confirming strikes at the site, which the United States bombed during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June.Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from the Iranian capital, said the latest strikes were indicative.“This shows the scope of the attacks on Iran, with raids targeting not just political centres and military headquarters,” he said. “We are witnessing damage to civilian buildings, with some of them fully demolished in some cases. And this is concerning because the civilian fatalities are growing.”