Iran willing to end war if guarantees prevent repeat attacks: Pezeshkian
Iran rejects a US 15-point war plan, offering a five-point counterproposal calling for an end to attacks and guarantees against renewed conflict, state media report.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had the "necessary will" to end the ongoing war with Israel and the United States, but was seeking guarantees that the conflict would not be repeated.
"We possess the necessary will to end this conflict, provided that essential conditions are met -- especially the guarantees required to prevent repetition of the aggression," Pezeshkian said on Tuesday in a phone conversation with European Council President Antonio Costa, according to a statement from his office, reiterating a key demand of Tehran's.
Responding to a 15-point US plan for ending the war last week, Iran issued a five-point counterproposal that also called for ending the "aggression" and establishing a mechanism guaranteeing that neither Israel nor the United States would return to war, Iranian media reported.
"The solution to normalising the situation is the cessation of their aggressive attacks," Pezeshkian said on Tuesday.
EU war stance
Pezeshkian warned that any external “intervention” in the ongoing war would have “serious consequences,” as he criticised Europe’s stance on the US-Israeli strikes on the country.
He slammed EU silence over US-Israeli "crimes" as “inconsistent with its human rights claims,” calling on the European countries “to align their policies with international law.”
Costa, for his part, said Europe “does not support the attacks on Iran,” expressing concern over the war’s global impact. He called for de-escalation and a return to diplomatic solutions.
249 women, 216 children killed
Iran said that at least 249 women and 216 children were killed in US-Israeli attacks since the start of the war last month.
All the fatalities were civilians and included 17 children under the age of five, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said in statements carried by the state news agency IRNA.
She said attacks on civilian infrastructure killed additional people, including at a natural resources facility and a charity centre in the central city of Fardis, where two people were killed and five others injured.
Mohajeran said the US-Israeli attacks targeted 105,325 civilian sites across Iran, including 83,351 residential units and 21,959 commercial properties, with tens of thousands of buildings damaged in Tehran alone.
113,000 civilian places damaged
More than 113,000 civilian places, including homes, schools and commercial facilities, were damaged in attacks by the US and Israel, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the organisation said 90,063 homes, 21,059 commercial facilities, 760 educational centres, and 18 facilities affiliated with the Red Crescent were damaged.
It added that three relief helicopters were also damaged as a result of the attacks.
Since February 28, Israel and the US have been carrying out military strikes against Iran, resulting in thousands of casualties, according to Iranian authorities.