Civilian Casualties Mount in Iran Amid Intensifying Airstrikes
Civilian deaths in Iran have exceeded 200 since the commencement of the US-Israel military campaign against the country last weekend, according to human rights organizations. Residents across multiple Iranian cities have reported receiving alarming messages from authorities warning them against public movements, as the regime tightens its control amidst the escalating conflict.
Conflicting Death Toll Reports Emerge
The Iranian Red Crescent Society has confirmed at least 555 fatalities nationwide. However, Hengaw, a Norway-based human rights group, provided a more recent and higher estimate, indicating that by day three of the conflict, the death toll had reached approximately 1,500 individuals. This figure includes around 200 civilians and approximately 1,300 members of Iranian military forces.
Hengaw has expressed particular concern about the rising number of civilian fatalities, with the southern province of Hormozgan recording the highest civilian casualties. This spike follows a devastating missile strike on a girls' elementary school in Minab over the weekend, which reportedly killed more than 150 people, including numerous children.
Authorities Issue Ominous Warnings to Citizens
Amid ongoing joint US-Israeli airstrikes targeting several Iranian cities, residents who communicated with international media described receiving a flood of alerts and text messages from government authorities on their mobile devices. In Sanandaj, the capital of Iranian Kurdistan in northwestern Iran, messages from the intelligence wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that any public presence or movement in the streets would be considered "direct cooperation with the enemy."
The messages claimed this measure was necessary to prevent "terrorist actions and street unrest," which authorities described as subsequent phases in the "enemy's plan." Similar warnings have been reported in other urban centers, with exiled Iranian media outlet IranWire documenting texts cautioning recipients against "any movement."
Communication Blackouts and Civilian Struggles
A Tehran-based student revealed, "The regime has shut down the internet again, and now we are all trying to connect with each other to determine how we can help weaken this regime and avenge our compatriots. Tehran is being bombed so heavily that it's impossible to know when, where, and how we can protest and mobilize because the streets are quickly turning dangerous. We don't know where the IRGC hideouts are, and that's a huge risk for us ordinary people."
Despite near-total internet blackouts, some individuals managed to make brief calls to relatives abroad or send limited text messages. Civilians who connected with human rights groups reported that in Mahabad, electricity was completely cut off on Monday following US-Israeli airstrikes. In Urmia, a prisoner contacted a family member to assure them that conditions in the prison were under control, with no executions occurring in their ward on Monday, though windows had been taped to muffle the sound of nearby explosions.
Strategic Military Placements Endanger Civilians
Hiwa Bahrami, head of foreign relations for the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, accused the regime of "deliberately establishing military bases and deploying its forces within populated regions, putting civilians at significant risk" in many areas, including Iranian Kurdistan.
Meanwhile, Tehran residents described desperate attempts to flee to smaller cities as US-Israeli strikes intensify. Matin, a former journalist based in Tehran, shared, "Although people had hoped for US assistance, clouds of smoke over the city's skyline, continuous loud explosions, and videos showing rubble in the heart of the capital have left me fearful. We want freedom and we want the IRGC to pay for every single drop of blood our families have sacrificed for this fight. But the videos I've been seeing are breaking my heart."
Complex Emotions Among Iranian Civilians
Zhila, a Tehran-based filmmaker, expressed the difficult emotional landscape many Iranians are navigating: "Our young people don't have a future in this country. The sanctions and every other restriction that has crippled the economy is the regime's doing because they kept getting rich. Despite this, I still hoped we could have brought this regime down. We tried everything, so even if I am against this war, I do not believe we have an option but to seek help. How many die is something that's killing me inside, but also how many were killed by the regime is still fresh on our minds."
The situation remains fluid and dangerous for civilians caught between foreign military strikes and domestic regime crackdowns, with communication challenges and mounting casualties creating an increasingly dire humanitarian situation across Iran.
