Iran says 1,255 people killed in US-Israeli attacks, mostly civilians

Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian tells Al Jazeera air attacks damage dozens of healthcare facilities.Published On 9 Mar 2026Iranian Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian says United States-Israeli attacks across his country have killed and wounded mostly civilians and the bombardment on oil facilities have caused toxic smoke to spread across the capital, Tehran.Speaking to Al Jazeera on Monday, Jafarian said at least 1,255 people have been killed in Iran, including 200 children and 11 healthcare workers. Their ages ranged from eight months to 88.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Oil soars past $100 a barrel, stocks plunge as US-Israel war on Iran rageslist 2 of 3Iran’s IRGC backs Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leaderlist 3 of 3Israel unlawfully used white phosphorus in Lebanon: HRWend of listInsisting that most of the victims were civilians, Jafarian said: “They were living in their homes or [were] at their workplace.”More than 12,000 people have also been wounded, mostly from burns and crush injuries, he added. Twenty-nine clinical facilities so far have been damaged and 10 of them were forced to shut down, Jafarian continued. Additionally, 52 health centres, 18 emergency services locations and 15 ambulances also have been damaged or destroyed.Jafarian warned of health risks for the population after Israeli air attacks hit Iran’s oil facilities late on Saturday for the first time since the war started, killing at least four people.“The whole city was dark until the afternoon yesterday,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to thick smoke that filled the sky over Tehran.Members of Iran’s Red Crescent Society stand below plumes of smoke from a fire that broke out from an air attack on the Shahran oil depot in western Tehran on March 8, 2026 [AFP]The attacks sparked large fires as they hit the Aghdasieh oil warehouse in northeastern Tehran, the Tehran-refinery" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="41074" data-entity-type="location">Tehran refinery in the south and the Shahran oil depot in western Tehran.