US airstrikes in Iran kill 14, injure 78

United States airstrikes across multiple Iranian provinces have killed at least 14 people and wounded 78 others, according to official figures released by Iran's Health Ministry on Thursday. The strikes, which began on Tuesday and continued through Wednesday and Thursday, represent a significant escalation in military hostilities between the two nations, targeting military infrastructure, coastal assets, and, for the first time, Iranian transportation networks.

The Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson, Hossein Kermanpour, stated that of the 78 injured, 47 remain hospitalized. Casualties were reported in several locations, including Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province and the city of Iranshahr, where a firefighter was killed at an airport. The U.S. military operation, confirmed by U.S. Central Command, targeted over 170 military sites. These included air defense systems, coastal surveillance radar, missile and drone infrastructure, naval capabilities, and facilities linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Officials stated the strikes were a direct response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the week, actions...