MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/. Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has been injured but is feeling well, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
More than 1,800 people have died and at least 12,500 have been injured in Iran, Lebanon, and Israel since the escalation of the Middle East conflict began, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
TASS has compiled the key updates on the situation in the Middle East.
Injury status of Iran's new supreme leader
- Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is feeling fine after being wounded, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said.
- He noted that three or four individuals had vied for the post, but the majority in the Assembly of Experts elected Khamenei.
Strike on a school in Minab
- The strike on the Iranian girls' school in the city of Minab was carried out with two Tomahawk cruise missiles, Esmail Baghaei said.
- According to him, the attack's sole objective was to inflict the maximum number of casualties.
Iran's request to neighboring countries and Europe's responsibility
- Iran requested that neighboring countries not allow the US to abuse their territory, Baghaei said.
- The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman added that a great responsibility lies with the Europeans, and they must not pander to the US and Israel.
Victims of the Middle East conflict
- More than 1,800 people have died and at least 12,500 have been injured in Iran, Lebanon, and Israel since the escalation of the conflict began in the Middle East, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
- Ghebreyesus also noted an increase in attacks on healthcare facilities in the region. Since February 28, the organization has recorded 18 such attacks in Iran, 25 in Lebanon, and two in Israel.
Possible timelines for the conflict's end
- US President Donald Trump has asserted that the military operation by the US and Israel against Iran will conclude only after their stated objectives are achieved.
- The Middle East conflict will persist for at least another two weeks unless the US and Iran immediately return to the negotiating table, a research fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in Beijing, Jodie Wen, said.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to continue weakening Iran and has no intention of backing down at this stage, the deputy director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, Zhang Chuchu, said.
- In her view, this places President Trump in a difficult position, even if he is considering the possibility of a swift end to the war.
- Chinese expert Niu Xinchun observed that if costs such as regional instability, domestic opposition, and the economic burden become too great, the US leader will seek to halt the military operation.