Up to 3.2 million people have been displaced inside Iran since the Middle East war erupted, the United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday.
“Between 600,000 and one million Iranian households are now temporarily displaced inside Iran as a result of the ongoing conflict, according to preliminary assessments,” said Ayaki Ito, who heads UNHCR’s emergency support team and is the refugee response coordinator for the Middle East emergency.
That represents “up to 3.2 million people,” he said in a statement, warning that “this figure is likely to continue rising as hostilities persist, marking a worrying escalation in humanitarian needs”.
READ ALSO: Iran War Costs US $11bn In Six Days
The United States and Israel launched the first wave of attacks on February 28 in a war that has seen Iran strike targets in multiple countries around the Gulf.
Ito said that most of those displaced were reportedly “fleeing from Tehran and other major urban areas towards the north of the country and rural areas to seek safety”.Refugee families hosted in the country, most of them Afghans, had also been affected, he said, warning that they were “particularly vulnerable, given their already precarious situation and limited support networks”.
“Families are leaving affected areas amid rising insecurity and limited access to essential services,” he said.
The UN refugee agency, which has had a longstanding presence in Iran, said it was “adapting its response to growing needs, working with national authorities and partners to assess emerging requirements and strengthen preparedness as population movements increase”.
“UNHCR emphasises the urgent need to protect civilians, maintain humanitarian access, and ensure borders remain open to those seeking safety, in line with international obligations,” Ito said.
$11bn War Expenses
US lawmakers were told in a Pentagon briefing that the opening week of the war against Iran cost Americans more than $11.3 billion, according to a New York Times report underscoring the pace at which the conflict is consuming weapons and resources.
The Times, citing unnamed sources familiar with Tuesday’s closed-door briefing, said members of Congress were told that the figure excludes many costs connected with the buildup to the strikes — suggesting the final tally for the first week could rise substantially.
Defence officials had previously told Congress that roughly $5.6 billion worth of munitions were expended in just the first two days of fighting, according to US media — a burn rate far higher than earlier public estimates.
The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), an independent think tank in Washington, estimated that the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury cost $3.7 billion — or more than $891 million per day.
The CSIS said that most of these costs, $3.5 billion, had not already been budgeted.
The Iran War Cost Tracker website, which estimates the cost of the conflict in real time, showed a figure of more than $17 billion on its counter at around 08:00 GMT on Thursday.
According to the site, the United States is spending $1 billion per day on the war.
However, it points out that the true cost of the war is likely higher, as the figures do not take into account long-term expenses such as veteran healthcare.
AFP
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