Deepa Raz

The head of Iran's forensic medical agency says the country's death toll in the war over the past six weeks has surpassed 3,000.

State media outlets quote Abbas Masjidi Arani as saying that some 40 percent of the bodies are unidentifiable.

and this casualty figure differs from what human rights groups have estimated.

They put the number of civilian deaths at somewhere between 1,000 and 1,700 in recent days, and they've also estimated that over 6,000 military and Revolutionary Guard members have been killed.

Additionally, 857 schools, 32 universities, and 338 hospitals were damaged or destroyed by airstrikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.

Deepa Raz, NPR News, Van, Turkey.

In a message released on Iranian state media, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Moshe Bachamenei addressed Gulf Arab states, promising them a gesture of goodwill in exchange for distancing themselves from, quote, the arrogant powers who never miss an opportunity to humiliate and exploit you.

The presence of U.S.

military bases in countries like Qatar and Bahrain has made them targets for Iran in this war.

And Iran's deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, told Al Jazeera English that Iran will permit some ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but only in coordination with Iranian forces.

Permanent control of the strait is among Iran's key demands in its negotiations with the U.S.,

Any restriction in the strait will prove highly problematic to oil-rich Gulf Arab nations who rely on free access to the passage for their economies.

Deepa Raz, NPR News, Van, Turkey.

In a speech updating the nation on the war with Iran, President Trump said that the conflict would end soon.

but that U.S.

strikes on Iran would intensify over the next two to three weeks.

He also said this.

There has yet to be an official response from Iran, but response from some officials on social media was swift and sharp.

For instance, Saeed Majid Mousavi, the aerospace commander for Iran's Revolutionary Guard, wrote on X, You, with your paltry 250-year-old history, threaten a civilization over 6,000 years old.

the ex-account belonging to the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Mumbai posted, they said Iran needed to be great again.