People watch as rescue workers use an excavator during a search operation at a destroyed house that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Arab Salim village, southern Lebanon, Sept 6, 2026. (PHOTO/AP)
TEHRAN – More than 7,250 people were pulled from the rubble alive in Iran during the 40-day war launched by the United States and Israel, according to an Iranian rescue official.
Head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Pirhossein Kolivand made the remarks at a ceremony in Tehran on Thursday, where new rescue and relief vehicles and equipment were delivered to the organization, the Iranian Labour News Agency reported.
Kolivand attributed the rescue achievement to using modern equipment in operations.
He described the development of the IRCS’s fleet and equipment in recent years as “unprecedented,” adding that the organization has over six million volunteer members nationwide.
On Feb 28, Israel and the US launched joint airstrikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
A temporary ceasefire was reached in April, though the US and Iran exchanged multiple strikes afterward.
Speaking at a press conference in New York late last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said more than 5,000 people, including hundreds of women and children, were killed in the US and Israeli “aggression” against Iran.