"Horror and Anxiety": Death Toll in Iran Tops 780 as Trump Says U.S. Can Fight "Forever

Following the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader, US and Israeli forces launched widespread strikes across Iran, resulting in a reported death toll of at least 787 people. This included a devastating attack on a girls' school in Minab, where 165 children were killed, drawing condemnation from UNESCO.

The US and Israel assassinated Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hami and struck sites across Iran. Iranian authorities say at least 787 people have died so far. On Monday, a mass funeral is held for the 165 people killed in an attack on a girl's school in the Iranian southern city of Minab. Most of the people killed were children. UNESCO condemned the strike.

Iran responded to the US-Israel actions with four days of strikes across the region, targeting Israel and US allies. This included drone attacks on the US embassy in Saudi Arabia and an attack on a US military facility in Kuwait that killed six US soldiers. An Iranian commander also threatened to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has retaliated by launching four days of strikes on Israel and US allies across the region. On Monday, Iranian drones hit the US embassy in Saudi Arabia. The Pentagon's now revealed six US soldiers died in an Iranian attack on a military facility in Kuwait. A commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to set ablaze any ship that passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump publicly stated the United States could fight wars 'forever,' claiming an 'unlimited supply of weapons' and asserting the US military's overwhelming strength. Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified the preemptive strikes as a measure to prevent higher American casualties.

President Trump said the United States could fight wars 'forever,' claiming it has 'virtually unlimited supply of weapons.' We have the strongest and most powerful by far military in the world and we will easily prevail. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke Monday: 'President made the very wise decision. We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces and we knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.'

Following the Supreme Leader's death, an interim three-person leadership council, as outlined in Article 111 of the Iranian constitution, was formed to manage day-to-day affairs. This council consists of the president, the head of the judiciary, and a clergy member of the Guardian Council, tasked with running the country until a successor is chosen, a process complicated by the ongoing war.

Article 111 of the Iranian constitution had already predicted this that in the case of the passing or death in this case killing of the supreme leader immediately a council is formed consisting of the president which now is the moderate Mahmud Mas Peskian, the head of judiciary conservative cleric right now Hussein Mosi and then also one clergy member of the guardian council, the powerful guardian council which is Ali Resa Arafi.

Nigar Mortazi argues that the US leadership demonstrates a 'total lack of understanding' of Iran's dynamics, underestimating the difficulty of the conflict. She states that Iran views the repeated US attacks as an 'existential threat' and is fighting a 'war of survival,' playing a 'long game' to inflict enough pain to deter future aggression, rather than seeking a quick end.

I don't think they understand the dynamics of this country. There seems to be a total lack of understanding. Many of us Iran analysts had been warning that starting a war with Iran is going to potentially be even more difficult and challenging than the war in Iraq. The Iranian thinking or sort of the policy, the defense doctrine or posturing in Iran is that he's going to keep coming back for us unless we fight back. They see this as an existential threat. They're fighting a war of survival. And that's why they're essentially doing fighting with all their might, whatever is left of it. And that they're not going to stop soon until they have inflicted as they think enough pain so that this doesn't keep coming again.