Iran says civilians made up 45 pct of deaths in 40-day war with Israel, U.S.

TEHRAN, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Iranian state media on Sunday said civilians made up about 45 percent of those killed during a 40-day war with Israel and the United States.

The official news agency IRNA, citing Iranian officials, reported that the total death toll stood at 3,468, including 1,460 civilians.

Jamshid Nazmi, a senior adviser to the head of Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, gave the figures at a press conference in Tehran, according to IRNA.

He said the civilian dead included women, men, children and older adults, and added that citizens of Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Pakistan were also among those killed.

At the same briefing, Farideh Oladqobad, a deputy head at the foundation, said 499 of the victims were women and 2,969 were men. She also said the military death toll was 2,008.

The report did not provide details on how the figures were verified or independently confirmed.

Iranian officials have said the fighting began on Feb. 28, when Israel and the United States launched joint strikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iranian authorities said senior military figures were killed in the opening attacks.

Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. bases and military assets in the Middle East, according to officials on both sides.

A ceasefire was reached on April 8, and follow-up talks were held in Pakistan on April 11 and 12, but they ended without an agreement, according to previous reports. Enditem