🚨 Casualties from the US-Israeli attack on Iran continue to rise

Explore Sputnik's infographic for a breakdown of the latest figures and key developments as of March 8 👆

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🚨🇺🇸 US death toll in its attack on Iran rises to 7 — CENTCOM

A US service member has died from injuries sustained during Iran’s initial retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, CENTCOM said.

The soldier was seriously wounded during an attack on US troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1 and later died of those injuries.

The death brings the total number of US service members killed in action during US-Israeli aggression against Iran to seven, according to CENTCOM.

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🤐 Media may keep quiet on Gulf crisis to avoid economic destabilization - ecologist

🔊 The ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf creates a clear risk of environmental disaster due to oil spills, ecologist Artem Akshintsev tells Sputnik.

The Gulf War of 1991 - when up to 8 million barrels of oil ended up pouring into the sea - is a textbook example of what damage a massive oil spill could cause, he explains.

💬 “The effect on the ecosystem was catastrophic: fish, shellfish and crabs were dying, sea flora was degraded,” Akshintsev says. “Over 30,000 birds perished on land; on some beaches, there was an oil film up to 13 centimeters thick, while the total length of polluted beaches measured in hundreds, even in thousands of kilometers.”

🔸 The cleanup effort back then cost about $13 billion, but much of the spilled oil was never collected.

🔸 The fact that the Persian Gulf is relatively shallow, small and has little water exchange with the open sea further complicates matters, the ecologist notes: the diffusion rate of pollutants is low while oil can end up accumulating in the sediment and remain there for a long time.

🔸 Attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz create serious risks for Gulf states such as Iran, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar and Oman, Akshintsev observes.

🔸 Many of these countries, he points out, depend on drinking water produced through desalination, and their desalination plants are not designed to purify water polluted by oil.

🔸 Regarding the apparent media silence, Akshintsev suggests that it may be deliberate.

🔸 After all, he argues, any official confirmation that the Persian Gulf – a vital energy artery – is on the verge of collapse could cause panic on energy markets, and the ensuing price spike would hit Western economies hard.

💬 “The media may deliberately avoid stoking tensions to avoid economic destabilization,” he says.

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🚨🇮🇷 Mojtaba Khamenei elected Iran’s Supreme Leader — reports

Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei has been elected Iran’s Supreme Leader, Fars News Agency reported.

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📹🇮🇷 Iranians celebrate election of new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei

Footage from social media

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🇮🇷 IRGC pledges allegiance to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) congratulated Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei on his election as the new Supreme Leader, according to a statement published by IRNA.

💬 The Guards described the decision by the Assembly of Experts as the start of “a new phase in the revolution and the Islamic Republic,” following the martyrdom of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The IRGC declared its “respect, devotion, and obedience” to the new leader and said it stands ready for “full obedience and self-sacrifice” in carrying out the orders of the Supreme Leader.

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📹 Damage reported in Tel Aviv after Iranian strikes — reports

Footage circulating on social media appears to show damage damaged vehicles, shattered storefront windows and debris scattered across the area.

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🚨🇺🇸 US National Guard soldier dies during medical emergency in Kuwait — CENTCOM

A US National Guard soldier died during a medical emergency in Kuwait on March 6, CENTCOM said.

This brings the US death toll in the US-Israeli war on Iran to eight.

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📹 IRGC posts video of missile launches toward Israel

Iranian state media Press TV posted a video showing Iranian forces launching two waves of missiles following the appointment of the country’s new Supreme Leader.

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🇺🇸🇮🇱 Ending Iran war will be ‘mutual’ decision with Netanyahu — Trump

US President Donald Trump said the timing of ending the war with Iran will be decided jointly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to The Times of Israel.

💬 “I think it’s mutual… We’ve been talking. I’ll make a decision at the right time, but everything’s going to be taken into account,” Trump told the outlet.

Trump added that he and Netanyahu “worked together” against the Islamic Republic, saying: “We’ve destroyed a country that wanted to destroy Israel,” The Times of Israel reported.

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