The full scale of civilian casualties from the joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran remains shrouded in official obfuscation. Internal Pentagon estimates, leaked to this newsroom, suggest a death toll exceeding 14,000 in the first 72 hours of airstrikes. But sources on the ground in Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz paint a far grimmer picture.
Hospitals are overwhelmed. Morgues overflow. The true number could be double the official figures, if not triple.
I have spoken to aid workers who describe entire neighbourhoods erased from the map. The regime in Tehran has imposed a media blackout, banning any reporting on casualties. But satellite imagery analysed by independent analysts shows extensive damage to residential areas near military targets.
The US and Israel insist they are striking only nuclear and military facilities. But precision munitions do not discriminate when intelligence is flawed. I have obtained a classified IDF briefing that acknowledges a 'higher than anticipated' civilian toll.
The word 'genocide' is now being whispered in diplomatic circles. The UN Security Council is paralysed by veto threats. Meanwhile, the bodies pile up.
And the world looks away. This is not war. This is slaughter by remote control.
