Israel-Iran war: 244 killed in Iran, 17 in Israel. What both nations lost in 3 days of airstrike exchange

Israel-Iran War: In just three days into the war with Israel, Iran said 224 of its citizens lost their lives and over 1,200 people were injured. Meanwhile, in Israel, 17 people have been killed and 390 wounded since the conflict escalated on Friday (June 13).

"After 65 hours of aggression by the Zionist regime, 1,277 people have been injured. 224 women, men, and children have been martyred," Iran's health ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour wrote on the social media platform X.

The minister said that among the killed, 90 per cent were civilians.

Moreover, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said that the intelligence chief, Mohammad Kazemi, and two other generals of the Islamic state were killed in the Israeli attacks. Iran has also lost its other top officials and nuclear scientists.

‘Whatever is necessary to achieve our dual aim’

Meanwhile, in Israel, despite 17 people dying and 390 being injured, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would continue the war. During an interview with the American news agency Fox News, Netanyahu said Israel would continue its military campaign against Iran in order to dismantle their nuclear facilities. He said Iran's nuclear facilities are a threat to Israel and its allies.

"We're geared to do whatever is necessary to achieve our dual aim, to remove ... two existential threats - the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat," Netanyahu said.

“We did act, to save ourselves, but also, I think, to not only protect ourselves but also protect the world from this incendiary regime. We can't have the world's most dangerous regime have the world's most dangerous weapons," he added.

'Dragging conflict to Persian Gulf is strategic mistake'

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Sunday (June 15) that Iran does not want its conflict with Israel to expand to neighbouring countries unless the situation is forced.

“Dragging the conflict to the Persian Gulf is a strategic mistake, and its [Israel's] aim is to drag the war beyond Iranian territory,” Araghchi said during a meeting with foreign diplomats broadcast on state TV.

The Iranian minister also accused America of supporting Israel in the ongoing conflict.