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.

 

 

 



Typhoon Dujuan Leaves 4 Dead in Japan, 45,000 Houses Without Power

Residents cycle through a flooded street after Typhoon Dujuan brought torrential rain to Sakura, Chiba prefecture, Japan, September 22, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Residents cycle through a flooded street after Typhoon Dujuan brought torrential rain to Sakura, Chiba prefecture, Japan, September 22, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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Typhoon Dujuan Leaves 4 Dead in Japan, 45,000 Houses Without Power

Residents cycle through a flooded street after Typhoon Dujuan brought torrential rain to Sakura, Chiba prefecture, Japan, September 22, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Residents cycle through a flooded street after Typhoon Dujuan brought torrential rain to Sakura, Chiba prefecture, Japan, September 22, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Typhoon Dujuan left at least four people dead and 22 injured in Japan, while thousands of houses near Tokyo were without power after the storm swept through the region, authorities said Tuesday.

The typhoon moved away from Japan's coast and out into the Pacific by morning, allowing authorities to lift or downgrade most heavy rain and landslide warnings.

Dujuan had already led to the early closure in the capital of the one of the world's biggest video game trade fairs.

Japan often sees strong typhoons in the late summer and early autumn, with other storms this season disrupting some events at the Asian Games being held in the country.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said three people died in Chiba prefecture and one in Kanagawa region, both near Tokyo.

Search operations were continuing for six people missing after landslides triggered by torrential rain, the agency said, according to AFP.

More than 45,000 households in Chiba near Tokyo were still without electricity on Tuesday afternoon, while over 460 houses were damaged.

Although Dujuan weakened as it moved northeast, it dumped record rainfall in parts of the Tokyo area.

Oshima, an island about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of central Tokyo, recorded 832 millimeters of rain over 48 hours, more than double its average rainfall for the whole of September, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Rainfall in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward reached a record 282.5 millimeters over 24 hours.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water.


G7 Foreign Ministers Call on Iran to Stop Arming Houthis

FILE PHOTO: Flags are pictured during the first working session of G7 foreign ministers in Muenster, Germany, November 3, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Flags are pictured during the first working session of G7 foreign ministers in Muenster, Germany, November 3, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
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G7 Foreign Ministers Call on Iran to Stop Arming Houthis

FILE PHOTO: Flags are pictured during the first working session of G7 foreign ministers in Muenster, Germany, November 3, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Flags are pictured during the first working session of G7 foreign ministers in Muenster, Germany, November 3, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/Pool/File Photo/File Photo

G7 foreign ministers on Monday called on Iran to end its arming and support of Houthis in Yemen, which they said constituted a dangerous pattern of escalation that risked undermining international trade ⁠and creating global instability.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the unacceptable continued strikes carried out by the Houthis in Yemen and against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the ministers of Britain, Canada, France, ⁠Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States said in a statement after a meeting on the sidelines of ⁠the UN General Assembly.

“We call on the Houthis to immediately cease all ⁠military actions, all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and ⁠to return to the political process in good faith,” they added.
The G7 statement comes ahead of the annual General Assembly in New York, where senior Iranian officials are due to speak.

On Monday, the United Nations condemned the continued cross-border attacks by the Houthis against the Kingdom, including an attempted attack on Riyadh and attacks on civilians and energy infrastructure, calling on all parties to exercise restraint and prevent any further escalation.

During a press briefing, spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric expressed deep concern over the ongoing military escalation in and around Yemen, including Houthi offensives in Taiz, Lahj, and Marib, and their grave consequences for civilians in Yemen and across the region.

Dujarric stressed the need to uphold obligations under international humanitarian law, including the prohibition of direct attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.


Argentina Accuses 7 Iranians and a Lebanese Man in 1994 Jewish Center Bombing Case

The aftermath of the bombing that targeted a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires (AFP file photo)
The aftermath of the bombing that targeted a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires (AFP file photo)
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Argentina Accuses 7 Iranians and a Lebanese Man in 1994 Jewish Center Bombing Case

The aftermath of the bombing that targeted a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires (AFP file photo)
The aftermath of the bombing that targeted a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires (AFP file photo)

An Argentine judge on Monday formally charged seven Iranians and a Lebanese citizen for their alleged involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

The decision marks another step toward a possible trial in absentia over the attack on July 18 that year, which killed 85 people and injured 300 more.

No one has ever been arrested over the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA), which is considered one of the worst tragedies in the South American country's history.

"The decision to carry out the attack was made in August 1993 by the highest echelons of the Iranian regime and entrusted to Hezbollah," Judge Daniel Rafecas wrote in a statement.

Seven of the defendants held high-ranking positions in the Iranian state when the attack occurred.

The Lebanese national was a Hezbollah member.

Two other defendants were removed from the case due to lack of evidence.

A trial is now a real possibility, but the charged individuals may appeal the indictment.

"There's still a whole process to go through," Rafecas told AFP, noting other necessary procedural steps before a trial could happen.

Argentine President Javier Milei, a staunch ally of Israel, celebrated the decision on social media.

"Morality as State Policy," he wrote on X.

Argentina and Israel have long pointed the finger at Iran as the perpetrator of the attack, which Tehran has always denied.

In a move backed by Milei's right-wing administration, Argentine courts authorized the possibility of a trial in absentia last year.

The attack on AMIA occurred just two years after a bomb at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires claimed 29 lives.

Monday's ruling suggested that the two incidents could be related. It sought the Argentine Supreme Court's opinion on potentially linking the two cases given Hezbollah's alleged involvement in both.

Argentina is home to Latin America's largest Jewish community.