Iran Death Toll Tops 1,000 as U.S. and Israeli Bombing Continues

Iran (Kaab TV) – Israel has carried out air strikes targeting security forces across Iran on the fifth day of the US–Israeli assault, as the death toll surpassed 1,000. Iran has launched further counterattacks and warned of potential destruction to military and economic infrastructure across the Middle East.

Israeli strikes on Wednesday hit the country’s capital, Tehran, the holy city of Qom, areas in western Iran, and parts of the central province of Isfahan, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency. The attacks also damaged residential buildings, the agency reported.

Israel said it targeted buildings belonging to the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as facilities linked to Iran’s internal security command.

Iranian state media reported that the death toll since the US–Israeli assault began on Saturday has reached 1,045.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall said civilians are bearing the brunt of the attacks and noted that the country is under fire from multiple directions.

“There is a continuous, sustained campaign across the country that is not sparing any region, city, or area,” he said.

“But we know that 300 children and adolescents have been hospitalised, with more than 6,000 people wounded,” he added.

Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said damage from the attacks was visible at two buildings near the Isfahan nuclear site. However, there has been no damage to facilities containing nuclear material and no risk of radiological release.

As explosions rocked the country, plans to hold a funeral ceremony for the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were postponed.

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency quoted an official citing logistical issues as the reason for the delay. The ceremony had been scheduled to begin late Wednesday and was expected to last several days.

Funeral arrangements are ongoing and are expected to draw huge crowds, raising concerns about the potential threat of US–Israeli attacks on such a large public gathering. About 10 million people attended the funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.

Khamenei was killed early Saturday in the first wave of the US and Israeli assault, which also killed several senior Iranian officials, including Defence Minister Amir Nasirzadeh.

In response, Tehran has launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes against Israel and US military bases across the Gulf region.

While Israel, the United States, and Gulf countries have intercepted most of the missiles, some have struck military targets and civilian infrastructure. Debris from intercepted missiles has also fallen in civilian areas.

Following Khamenei’s death, senior Iranian officials have begun the process of selecting his successor, with potential candidates ranging from hardliners to reformists.

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a senior cleric who serves on both the powerful Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts, said the country was close to choosing the next Supreme Leader.

“The Supreme Leader will be identified at the earliest opportunity. We are close to a conclusion; however, the situation in the country remains a wartime situation,” Khatami told state television.

No official announcement has yet been made by Iranian authorities, but Israeli and Western media outlets have reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, a hardline cleric, is the frontrunner to become the next Supreme Leader of the 47-year-old Islamic Republic.

Israel’s defence minister also warned whoever is chosen as Iran’s next Supreme Leader.

“Any leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue the plan to destroy Israel, threaten the United States and the free world, and oppress the Iranian people will be a target for elimination,” Israel Katz wrote on X.

US President Donald Trump, who has suggested the conflict could last several weeks, said on Wednesday that Tehran’s leadership was in disarray.

“We’re in a very strong position now, and their leadership is collapsing rapidly. Everyone who seems to want to be a leader ends up dead,” Trump said.

As the US, Israel, and Iran continue exchanging fire, the United Nations said that between February 28 and March 1 an estimated 100,000 people fled Tehran due to the conflict.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi criticised Trump, saying he had “betrayed diplomacy and the Americans who elected him.”

“When complex nuclear negotiations are treated like a real estate transaction, and when major lies cloud reality, unrealistic expectations can never be met,” he wrote in a post on X.

“The outcome? Bombing the negotiation table out of spite.”

Later on Wednesday, the US Senate voted against a resolution aimed at curbing President Trump’s ability to wage war on Iran.

However, Trump is expected to face increasing domestic scrutiny as the war continues, while Israel will likely enjoy stronger long-term public support, according to Paul Musgrave, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar.

“The political constraints on Donald Trump are greater than they appear,” he said.