US Launches Intense Airstrikes on Iran Amid Rising Civilian Deaths and Threats

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The United States launched what it called its “most intense day” of airstrikes against Iran on Tuesday, deepening a 12‑day campaign that Washington says has sharply reduced Iran’s missile and drone fire but that Tehran claims has killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, across the country.aljazeera +1 Explosions were reported in Tehran and multiple other cities as U.S. warplanes and cruise missiles targeted military and oil infrastructure.aljazeera +1

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters the operation would involve “the most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes,” and vowed, “We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated.”aljazeera +1 Iran’s leadership responded with defiance, threatening to choke off oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz if the attacks continued.aljazeera +1

Strikes Intensify as U.S. Cites Major Degradation of Iran’s Arsenal

Pentagon officials said Tuesday’s wave of attacks was aimed at further degrading Iran’s ballistic‑missile launchers, naval forces and command hubs after nearly two weeks of joint U.S.-Israeli strikes that began on February 28.aljazeera +1 Gen. Dan Caine, a senior U.S. commander, said Iranian ballistic‑missile launches were down about 90% and one‑way attack drones by roughly 83% since the start of the campaign, framing the escalation as evidence that “pressure is working.”cnn

The intensified bombardment followed days of Iranian missile and drone salvos at Israel and Gulf states, with the United Arab Emirates reporting the interception of hundreds of projectiles and at least six deaths linked to the conflict.aljazeera U.S. naval forces have been striking suspected mine‑laying vessels and other Revolutionary Guard assets around the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington weighs whether to begin formal escorts for commercial tankers through the chokepoint.aljazeera +1 Oil markets whipsawed as shipping through the strait dropped by about 95% in early March and Brent crude briefly neared $120 a barrel before retreating on hints from President Donald Trump that the war might be “short‑term.”aljazeera +1

Mounting Civilian Toll and Scrutiny Over Deadly School Strike

Iran’s deputy health minister said at least 1,255 people had been killed and about 12,000 wounded nationwide by U.S. and Israeli strikes as of Monday, including roughly 200 children and 11 health workers, and reported damage to “dozens” of medical facilities and major fires at oil depots around Tehran.wsj The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched an emergency appeal for 40 million Swiss francs (about $52 million) to support five million people in 30 provinces, warning that humanitarian needs were “growing sharply with every passing day.”aljazeera

Particular outrage has focused on a February 28 strike in the southern city of Minab, where Iranian authorities say about 168 people, many of them children, died when a blast tore through an elementary school next to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facility.understandingwar +1 Video authenticated by BBC Verify shows a cruise missile consistent with a U.S. Tomahawk in its final seconds of flight hitting the military site beside the school; munitions experts told BBC and CNN that an Iranian weapon was “improbable” and that an outdated targeting picture or intelligence failure likely contributed to the tragedy.understandingwar +1 The Pentagon says it is investigating, while Hegseth insisted that “no nation takes more precautions” to avoid civilian casualties.cnn

The Bigger Picture

Tuesday’s bombardment underscored the widening gap between U.S. claims of military progress and growing international alarm over civilian deaths, damage to critical infrastructure and the risk of a prolonged regional war. European governments have pushed for emergency U.N. Security Council sessions and debated tapping strategic oil reserves, while rights groups and U.N. officials demand independent investigations into incidents like Minab.understandingwar +1 With Iran threatening “eye for an eye” retaliation and to halt “one liter of oil” from leaving the Middle East if strikes persist, the conflict’s trajectory now hinges less on battlefield metrics than on whether any side is willing to slow an escalation that is already reshaping the region’s security and economic order.aljazeera +1

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US Launches Intense Airstrikes on Iran Amid Rising Civilian Deaths and Threats

Strikes Intensify as U.S. Cites Major Degradation of Iran’s Arsenal

Mounting Civilian Toll and Scrutiny Over Deadly School Strike

The Bigger Picture