Iran Minister Says US, Israeli Strikes Caused 'Heavy Damage' to Water, Energy Infrastructure

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
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Iran Minister Says US, Israeli Strikes Caused 'Heavy Damage' to Water, Energy Infrastructure

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)

Iran's critical water and energy infrastructure have suffered extensive damage due to US and Israeli strikes on tens of thousands of civilian sites, officials said on Sunday.

Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran on February 28, killing the Islamic republic's supreme leader and sparking a war that has since spread across the Middle East.

"The country's vital water and electricity infrastructure has suffered heavy damage following terrorist and cyber attacks by the United States and the Zionist regime," said energy minister Abbas Aliabadi, according to ISNA news agency, AFP reported.

"The attacks targeted dozens of water transmission and treatment facilities and destroyed parts of critical water supply networks," he noted, adding that efforts were under way to repair the damage.

Iran's Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Kolivand said the total number of damaged civilian sites "has reached 81,365 based on the latest field assessments".

He said the figure includes residential and commercial units, schools, medical centers and vehicles.

"Behind every damaged unit stands a family, a life, a memory, a livelihood, and a future that has collapsed beneath the rubble of war and violence," he added.

AFP has not been able to access sites or verify the figures outside of the Iranian capital, but journalists in Tehran have reported damage to multiple residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure.

More than 1,200 Iranians have been killed in US and Israeli strikes, according to the latest toll from Iran's health ministry on March 8, which could not be independently verified.

On Sunday, ISNA news agency reported that strikes had damaged a hospital in the southern city of Ahvaz, in Khuzestan province.

Other media, including Fars news agency, showed images of rescuers pulling bodies from the rubble of destroyed buildings in the northern city of Tabriz.

It was not immediately clear when those strikes took place.

Earlier on Sunday, US President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran's power plants if it failed to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

Traffic through the vital strait -- through which 20 percent of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes -- has been brought to a near-standstill since the start of the war.

Iranian forces have attacked multiple vessels, saying they failed to heed "warnings" against transiting the waterway.

In recent days, Iran has allowed some vessels from countries it considers friendly to pass, while warning it would block ships from countries it says have joined the "aggression" against it.

In response to Trump, Iran threatened to target energy infrastructure and desalination plants across the region.

 

 

 



Trump Says Iran Has Agreed to Not Have a Nuclear Weapon

President Donald Trump waves after his arrival at Ocala International Airport, in Ocala, Florida on May 1, 2026. (Getty Images/AFP)
President Donald Trump waves after his arrival at Ocala International Airport, in Ocala, Florida on May 1, 2026. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Trump Says Iran Has Agreed to Not Have a Nuclear Weapon

President Donald Trump waves after his arrival at Ocala International Airport, in Ocala, Florida on May 1, 2026. (Getty Images/AFP)
President Donald Trump waves after his arrival at Ocala International Airport, in Ocala, Florida on May 1, 2026. (Getty Images/AFP)

US President ‌Donald Trump said Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and that he would probably meet with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei at some point if things "work out".

"They've already agreed they're not going to have a nuclear weapon," Trump told "Pod Force One" in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, while speaking about Iran.

Asked about Khamenei's involvement in talks with ‌the US on ending ‌hostilities, Trump said, "He's involved, ‌absolutely. ... I ⁠think they have ⁠a lot of respect for him."

Trump said he was hearing Iran's leader was not doing too well but was giving his approval during the negotiations. He added that he had not had "the privilege of meeting" ⁠Khamenei.

"I'd like to meet him. We ‌probably will meet ‌at some point, depending on how it all ‌works out," Trump said.

The US president said ‌he viewed the Iran war as a success because the country's military had been defeated.

The conflict, which began with US-Israeli strikes on February ‌28, has upended the global energy market and has proven unpopular with Americans ⁠months ⁠before November congressional elections.

"Iran's a big success," Trump said in the interview. "We'll see what happens. We're going to, we're working on a deal, and that happens fine. If it doesn't happen, that's OK too. We'll do it the other way."

He did not specify what that might mean, but has said in the past that the US would resume strikes.


Iran Executes Man Convicted of Killing Police Officer During Protest

 People walk around Tehran's historic Grand Bazaar, Iran, Monday, June 1, 2026. (AP)
People walk around Tehran's historic Grand Bazaar, Iran, Monday, June 1, 2026. (AP)
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Iran Executes Man Convicted of Killing Police Officer During Protest

 People walk around Tehran's historic Grand Bazaar, Iran, Monday, June 1, 2026. (AP)
People walk around Tehran's historic Grand Bazaar, Iran, Monday, June 1, 2026. (AP)

Iran's judiciary on Wednesday announced the execution of a man convicted of killing a police officer during the wave of anti-government protests that swept the country earlier this year.

Iran executes more people annually than any other nation besides China, according to rights groups, and has carried out a string of executions for security-related cases since the outbreak in February of war with Israel and the United States.

"The death penalty has been carried out against Fathollah Avari, who had killed a police commander during the January protests in Hamedan" in western Iran, according to the judiciary's website, Mizan.

No date was provided for Avari's arrest, trial or execution.

On Wednesday, Iran's prosecutors accused Avari of "fatally stabbing a police officer" during a protest in Hamedan on January 8, at the height of the protests.

In late December, a protest movement sparked by economic pains quickly expanded into mass anti-government rallies and was met by a crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands.

Iranian authorities portrayed the protests as riots backed by the United States and Israel, and said the violence killed around 3,000 people.

Rights groups abroad put the toll higher and accused the security forces of firing at demonstrators.


NATO Chief Visits Kyiv After Russian Strikes

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on June 3, 2026, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (L) greets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (R) upon his arrival in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Handout / Ukrainian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on June 3, 2026, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (L) greets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (R) upon his arrival in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Handout / Ukrainian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
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NATO Chief Visits Kyiv After Russian Strikes

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on June 3, 2026, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (L) greets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (R) upon his arrival in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Handout / Ukrainian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
In this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on June 3, 2026, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (L) greets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (R) upon his arrival in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Handout / Ukrainian Foreign Ministry / AFP)

NATO chief Mark Rutte arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday for an unannounced trip, after a series of large-scale fatal Russian attacks on the Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is expected to meet with Rutte, has been appealing to members of the defense bloc for help protecting Ukraine from Russian ballistic missile attacks.

A spokesman confirmed Rutte had arrived along with NATO ambassadors from alliance members after Ukraine's national railway operator posted images of his arrival in Kyiv.

"We are gladly welcoming NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte," Ukrzaliznytsia wrote on social media.

"This visit is extremely important, just like all the previous ones, because it is a gesture of solidarity and support from the Alliance for our country," Ukrzaliznytsia added. The post was later deleted.

His visit comes hours after Ukrainian drones hit energy and military sites in the northern Russian city of Saint Petersburg where officials and visiting dignitaries were gathering for a flagship economic forum.

Russian missile and drone attacks a day earlier killed 23 people in strikes on Kyiv and the eastern city of Dnipro.

Zelensky has been pushing NATO countries to up their deliveries of air defense systems -- in particular US-made Patriot batteries and ammunition, which Kyiv says it needs to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles.