Web Desk

WASHINGTON:US President Donald Trump on Thursday confirmed that eighteen people were killed in recent US strikes on Iran. In a post on Truth Social, he also referred to earlier remarks made by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and clarified that “Sec. Lutnick had Venezuela on his mind when he said nobody was killed.”
Iranian state media initially reported that seven people were killed and eight wounded in US missile strikes on three locations in the southwestern province of Khuzestan. However, Iran’s health minister later said that 18 people had been killed and 108 injured in the latest wave of US strikes nationwide.
Separately, ISNA reported that six Iranian naval personnel were killed by US attacks on Tuesday in renewed fighting. “During the criminal attacks carried out by the US terrorist army two nights ago on September 1, in the south of the country, six members of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Navy were martyred,” the report added.
Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said on Thursday that Iran’s response to any future US attack would be “asymmetric” and “multi-layered”, as the recent US attacks had changed Tehran’s security calculations and defence doctrine. “The recent US crimes against the Iranian nation have changed our security calculations and defence doctrine. From now on, our response will be asymmetric, multi-layered and aimed at depriving the aggressor of security,” Aref said in a post on X.
He also warned of economic consequences for Washington. “The Americans should think about stockpiling gasoline and fuel; dark months await the American economy,” he added.