Iran Counts its Human, Material Losses in 5 Weeks of War

A worker moves a pallet of medical cardboard boxes as Turkish Health Ministry plans to send medical supplies in Iran in Van, north-eastern Türkiye, on April 8, 2026. (AFP) 
A worker moves a pallet of medical cardboard boxes as Turkish Health Ministry plans to send medical supplies in Iran in Van, north-eastern Türkiye, on April 8, 2026. (AFP) 
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Iran Counts its Human, Material Losses in 5 Weeks of War

A worker moves a pallet of medical cardboard boxes as Turkish Health Ministry plans to send medical supplies in Iran in Van, north-eastern Türkiye, on April 8, 2026. (AFP) 
A worker moves a pallet of medical cardboard boxes as Turkish Health Ministry plans to send medical supplies in Iran in Van, north-eastern Türkiye, on April 8, 2026. (AFP) 

More than 125,000 civilian facilities have been damaged or destroyed in the US-Israeli attacks across Iran, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said on Friday.

Pir-Hossein Kolivand told Iranian state television that around 100,000 homes and at least 23,500 shops were hit during the five-week conflict.

A two-week ceasefire is currently in force, although there are fears the truce could break down over Israel's ongoing attacks in Lebanon.

In addition to residential and commercial areas, numerous other civilian facilities were also hit during the conflict, Kolivand said.

Around 339 medical facilities such as hospitals, pharmacies, emergency centers and laboratories were damaged in the airstrikes, he said.

Furthermore, 32 universities were hit while 857 buildings belonging to schools and other educational institutions were specifically targeted, Kolivand stated.

Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East in the Iran war, which began when the US and Israel struck Iran on February 28.

Those strikes triggered Iranian attacks on Israel, US bases in the Gulf states, while opening a new front in Lebanon.

More than 3,000 people were killed throughout Iran during the war, Iran's forensic chief ‌told state media on Thursday.

US-based rights group HRANA said 3,636 people have been killed since the war erupted. It said 1,701 of those were civilians, including at least 254 children.

The group said it will stop publishing daily reports on attacks and casualties amid the “change in the situation on the ground and the uncertainty surrounding whether the ceasefire will hold or collapse.”

The Iranian military said at least 104 people were killed in a US attack on an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka on March 4.

In return, missiles launched from Iran and Lebanon have killed 23 people in Israel, according to Israel's ambulance service. The Israeli army said 12 of ‌its soldiers have also been killed in southern Lebanon.

Separately, Israeli forces misfired and killed an Israeli farmer near the border with Lebanon on March 22.

Earlier, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that 13 US service members have been killed and over 300 wounded since the start of the conflict with Iran on February 28.

It also classified six Air Force deaths as “non-hostile,” the crew of a KC-135 refueling aircraft who died in Iraq while supporting air operations.

Turkish Aid Convoy

Meanwhile, the Red Cross and Türkiye’s Red Crescent on Friday dispatched an emergency humanitarian aid convoy from Türkiye to Iran, as the organization warned of a “desperate” humanitarian situation in the country.

“Humanitarian needs in Iran are extremely high,” International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) spokesperson Scott Craig told AFP shortly before the convoy departed from the outskirts of Ankara.

“The humanitarian situation in Iran is desperate,” Craig said. “Needs will change according to how the situation evolves. But the needs will remain critical for a very long time. The health system in the country has been destroyed.”

He added that large-scale damage to infrastructure had compounded the crisis, with severe psychological and mental health impacts on the population.

The convoy includes around 200 trauma kits containing emergency medical supplies for bombing casualties.

The Turkish Red Crescent has also sent four trucks carrying 48 tons of aid, including emergency shelters for displaced families, hygiene kits and first-aid supplies.

The vehicles bear the message “Humanitarian aid from the Turkish people to the brotherly people of Iran,” an AFP journalist observed at the scene.

Craig said the shipment represents “one of the first international humanitarian aid deliveries into Iran since the conflict began,” adding that global supply chain disruptions, especially to maritime routes, have complicated procurement and transport efforts.

“Sending them overland from Türkiye is a really innovative way of being able to move assistance into the country,” he said.

According to Turkish Red Crescent president Fatma Meric Yilmaz, roughly 3.6 percent of Iran’s 90 million people have been displaced, while 62,000 homes and more than 20,000 businesses have been destroyed.

She said the Iranian Red Crescent had also suffered “severe” losses, with 17 of its centers and nearly 100 ambulances damaged.

The convoy is expected to reach Tehran within 48 hours, after which supplies will be distributed to centers hosting displaced people, Turkish

Red Crescent official Alper Kucuk told AFP.

Iran-Linked Sips Cross Hormuz

Also, most vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz in the past day are linked to Iran, according to ship tracking data.

The majority of ships that have sailed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past day were linked to Iran, ship tracking data showed on Friday, with other vessels putting off making voyages despite a two-week ceasefire agreed this week between Tehran and Washington, according to data and shipping sources.

Three tankers – a crude supertanker that can carry 2 million barrels of oil, a bunkering tanker and smaller oil ship – all left Iranian waters in the past 24 hours, based on separate data analysis from Kpler and Lloyd’s List Intelligence platforms.

 

 

 



Pezeshkian: Iran is Facing its Most Intense Blockade since 1979

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits an exhibition that showcases the defense ministry's latest advancements in defense and space in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits an exhibition that showcases the defense ministry's latest advancements in defense and space in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa
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Pezeshkian: Iran is Facing its Most Intense Blockade since 1979

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits an exhibition that showcases the defense ministry's latest advancements in defense and space in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits an exhibition that showcases the defense ministry's latest advancements in defense and space in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that the country was facing its most intense blockade since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, accusing the United States of seeking to provoke public protests.

Iran and the United States have been at war since February 28, when US and Israeli strikes killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Over the 48 years since the Revolution, we have never faced such intense blockade, war and difficulties as we are facing now," Pezeshkian said in a speech broadcast by state television.

He accused Washington of seeking to make life difficult for Iranians in order to fuel public anger and trigger unrest.

Pezeshkian said the US was focusing its efforts on making "the people become upset and face difficulties, and then for social protests to emerge so that they can achieve their sinister objectives".

The US imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran's closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, diverting or stopping vessels travelling to and from Iranian ports.

Iran has repeatedly accused the US and Israel of fomenting unrest inside the country, and in recent months has executed several Iranians accused of collaborating with its foes.

In late December last year, protests over the cost of living erupted in Iran, spreading nationwide and evolving into a wider anti-government movement.

Iran's rulers blamed the US and Israel for the unrest.


Why Are More Women Leaving Trump's Administration?

(FILES) Kimberly Guilfoyle, President Trump's nominee to be the US ambassador to Greece, speaks alongside US President Donald Trump, during a Greek Independence Day celebration in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 24, 2025.  (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
(FILES) Kimberly Guilfoyle, President Trump's nominee to be the US ambassador to Greece, speaks alongside US President Donald Trump, during a Greek Independence Day celebration in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 24, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
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Why Are More Women Leaving Trump's Administration?

(FILES) Kimberly Guilfoyle, President Trump's nominee to be the US ambassador to Greece, speaks alongside US President Donald Trump, during a Greek Independence Day celebration in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 24, 2025.  (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
(FILES) Kimberly Guilfoyle, President Trump's nominee to be the US ambassador to Greece, speaks alongside US President Donald Trump, during a Greek Independence Day celebration in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 24, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

A wave of departures by female officials from US President Donald Trump's second administration has raised questions about whether women and men are being treated equally. Four of the eight women holding Cabinet-level positions left within just three months, while several male officials remained in their posts despite facing criticism and allegations that sparked widespread controversy.

According to The New York Times, the latest development came with the forced resignation of Kimberly Guilfoyle, the US ambassador to Greece, after a news report alleged that she had asked a Trump donor to pay a $100,000 credit card bill shortly before her confirmation hearing, promising him access to administration officials in return.

Guilfoyle denied the allegations, while Trump said he was unhappy with what he had read about her, despite acknowledging that she had performed well in the role. He also downplayed any substantial personal connection to Guilfoyle, one of his most ardent supporters, who was once engaged to his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.

Four Female Officials Leave Their Posts

The past three months have seen the departure of four prominent female officials: Attorney General Pam Bondi, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

They left for different reasons, but all four were replaced by men.

Bondi's departure followed criticism of her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, her failure to meet Trump's demands to pursue his political adversaries, and his dissatisfaction with her performance during congressional hearings and television appearances.

Noem, meanwhile, was dismissed following her congressional testimony about government advertising campaigns worth millions of dollars in which she featured prominently. She said Trump had approved the spending, an account the president denied.

Gabbard announced her resignation to care for her ailing husband, but the decision came amid tensions with the White House after she declined to affirm that Iran had posed an imminent threat, a claim Trump had used to justify the war against the country. The president described her position as less hardline than his own.

Chavez-DeRemer left her post amid allegations of dysfunction and a toxic workplace environment within the Labor Department, as well as claims of abuse of power, an inappropriate relationship with a staff member and the use of public funds for personal purposes.

Male Officials Face Allegations but Remain in Office

While female officials departed, several male members of the administration faced criticism and allegations of their own.

FBI Director Kash Patel faced questions over allegations of excessive drinking, assigning an armed tactical team to protect his girlfriend and using a government aircraft for personal purposes. Patel denied the allegations.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was named in files released by the Justice Department as having visited the private island owned by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also faced criticism after disclosing secret military plans in a conversation on a private messaging application to which Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, had been added by mistake.

Trump did penalize his former national security adviser, Mike Waltz, for adding the journalist to the conversation. However, Waltz was subsequently appointed US ambassador to the United Nations, a position Trump had previously promised to his Republican congressional ally Elise Stefanik.

Stefanik ultimately found herself politically sidelined before resigning from Congress.

Political Criticism Over Unequal Accountability

According to The New York Times report, the apparent disparity has drawn criticism from several Democrats, who argue that women are being dismissed more quickly than men when controversies or allegations emerge.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York questioned the pattern after Bondi and Noem left their posts. Asked by a reporter whom the president should fire next, she responded: "Is he out of women?" She suggested that Trump appeared capable of dismissing only female Cabinet secretaries.

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, a frequent target of Trump's mockery, wrote on social media that Hegseth should be the next to leave the administration.

"I see a theme," she wrote, arguing that Trump was much quicker to dismiss incompetent women than incompetent men.

During a congressional hearing in April, Rep. Madeleine Dean confronted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over what she described as a double standard, citing his previous ties to Epstein.

Dean asked whether Trump was concerned about Lutnick's past relationship with Epstein. Lutnick replied that he would not discuss his conversations with the president.

Dean pointed out that Trump had dismissed three Cabinet secretaries, all women. She argued that if the president were genuinely concerned about holding those who enabled Epstein accountable, he would dismiss Lutnick as well.

Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution who has studied diversity in presidential administrations since the Reagan era, described the pattern as highly unusual.

She said she had never witnessed a situation in which the first wave of Cabinet departures involved only members of one gender, namely women.

White House Defends Trump's Appointments

The White House, meanwhile, defended Trump's approach to selecting members of his administration, insisting that the president based his appointments on their ability to deliver results for the American people.

White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said Trump had assembled what she described as the greatest administration in history, choosing members of his team according to a single criterion: their ability to serve the American people effectively.

She contrasted that approach with what she characterized as the Democrats' obsession with identity politics, saying Trump judged individuals according to their qualifications and abilities rather than personal characteristics.

During a Women's History Month celebration last year, Trump expressed satisfaction that his Cabinet included more women than any previous Republican administration. The number of women remaining in Cabinet-level positions, however, subsequently fell to four.

Nevertheless, May Mailman, director of the Independent Women's Law Center and a former White House official in both Trump administrations, rejected the suggestion that the departures demonstrated the marginalization of women.

She pointed to women who continued to hold prominent leadership positions, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Erica Schwartz, who had been confirmed to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

Mailman argued that conservative women were not isolated within the Trump administration but were empowered to exercise influence.

She maintained that women were essential members of the administration because of their competence and qualifications, rather than their gender.


2 Ships Ablaze in Romanian Black Sea Waters, 7 Sailors Missing

A screengrab from an aerial footage shows San Marino-flagged tanker ship that caught fire in Romanian territorial waters, released October 15, 2026. Romanian Interior Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
A screengrab from an aerial footage shows San Marino-flagged tanker ship that caught fire in Romanian territorial waters, released October 15, 2026. Romanian Interior Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
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2 Ships Ablaze in Romanian Black Sea Waters, 7 Sailors Missing

A screengrab from an aerial footage shows San Marino-flagged tanker ship that caught fire in Romanian territorial waters, released October 15, 2026. Romanian Interior Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
A screengrab from an aerial footage shows San Marino-flagged tanker ship that caught fire in Romanian territorial waters, released October 15, 2026. Romanian Interior Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

Rescuers were searching for seven missing crew on Thursday from one of two chemical tankers that caught fire overnight inside Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea, after Russian drones strayed into Romanian airspace, Romanian officials said.

Romanian officials stopped short of explicitly linking the fires onboard the ships to the Russian drones. But the incidents follow drone strikes on at least five other cargo ships near the coasts of Romania and neighboring fellow NATO member Bulgaria over the past 10 days.

At least 23 sailors were lost from those strikes, which unlike the latest incidents took place ⁠just outside NATO's territorial ⁠waters.

The two ships hit overnight were both anchored in the Black Sea near the mouth of the canal leading into the Danube River, a major shipping route used by Ukraine as Russia has attacked Ukraine's own Black Sea ports.

Romania's naval authority said it received an emergency alert from the San Marino-flagged tanker. Seven of its 12 crew were missing and 5 were rescued, Reuters reported.

The interior ministry said it had sent two Black Hawk helicopters to the ⁠search and rescue mission, as well as two ships with medical staff on board.

"At the moment, the rescue cannot be done safely because of very big waves," it said in a statement.

Late on Wednesday, a Comoros-flagged chemical and oil tanker also caught fire. Romanian authorities initially said it was not clear whether it had been attacked. All its crew were safe.

Romania shares a 614-km (381-mile) border with Ukraine, much of it along the Danube. It has reported repeated breaches of its airspace by Russian drones over the past four years.

Both vessels caught fire near the mouth of the Danube River's Sulina Canal leading to the Black Sea, where ships often anchor waiting to pass because of ⁠delays from weather and ⁠congestion.

Increasing attacks on Black Sea shipping connected with the Russia-Ukraine war in recent months have threatened to cause a global food crisis, as both countries are major exporters of grain, as is Romania.

"We're looking at the Black Sea as a global food artery," Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu told a security conference in Warsaw earlier this week.

"It is currently, unfortunately, the deadliest sea when it comes to the number of casualties of sailors in the last months. That means we need to increase our investments in deterrence, defense."

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev said EU leaders would discuss on Thursday a proposed moratorium on attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea.

Russia has been bombing Ukraine's Black Sea ports, forcing Kyiv to rely increasingly on Danube River ports and shipping routes close to the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania. For its part, Ukraine has targeted Russian ships near the mouth of the Don River in the Azov Sea.