Iran's FM says over 5,000 people killed in US, Israeli attacks

TEHRAN, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said more than 5,000 people, including hundreds of women and children, were killed in the U.S. and Israeli "aggression" against Iran, Iranian media reported early Saturday.

An Iranian man speaks on his mobile phone as he stands on the debris in front of destroyed buildings following a military strike on the Iranian capital Tehran on March 15, 2026. (File photo: AFP)

In his remarks at a press briefing in New York, Araghchi listed some of the civilian targets struck in the U.S. and Israeli attacks as residential areas, schools, hospitals, energy facilities, sports and cultural complexes and transportation infrastructure, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Araghchi emphasized that the assassinations of Iran's former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a number of the country's senior political and military officials were "flagrant crimes and in violation of international law," said the report.

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Iran's capital Tehran and other cities. Iran has since tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

On June 18, the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ending the war in the region on all fronts, including Lebanon.

Under the MoU, they were scheduled to hold negotiations within 60 days, a deadline that expired on Aug. 17, to reach a final agreement, but the talks' fate remains unclear amid recent escalations.